Untitled
by to-infinity
Summary: When you take the absolutely loony elementalist, throw her into Bloors, and mix in a little bit of squirrels, a conscious, crazy evil bad guys, and a great group of friends, what do you get? You meet Elle. Well, she's in there somewhere. Tancred/OC
1. Prolouge

Hey! This is my first story that I've ever considered uploading. Normally, I would just write this down on paper, but I felt that I should start putting these up. So, that means I've never had someone read my work. Nope, nobody. Meaning that if these things suck, well sorry, but feel free to criticize, but **don't **go _overboard_ alright. It's a _Children of The Red King _[aka Charlie Bone]fic. Yeah, thanks. Oh, by the way, **NO! I don't own Charlie, the king, Bloors Academy, etc. That all belongs to Jenny Nimmo. **Here we go….

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Elemoret Newburt stared at the tall, iron gates of her new school. It seemed as if they glowered right back, but it was probably only because they held such an ominous aura. They were dark, silver, and way too shiny; not something she wanted to go in through. Then again, she didn't exactly _choose _to come to the school..

She was endowed, and she wasn't really proud. Her ability was not something the other 'normal' kids said was special, and they made sure she knew it. The children sneered, ridiculed, even went as far as hurting her. They didn't understand…

Then the letter came. Her parents were aware of her predicament. Seeing her acceptance to Bloors was something they thought would help her make friends, blend in. Were they right? The girl would soon find out.

Elemoret stepped closer to the iron barriers, seeing as they gleamed in the small slivers of sunlight that fell through the thick blanket of clouds. She turned and looked at the areas around her. Then, taking a short, shaky breath, the girl stepped forward and touched the entrance…

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That's the end of the prologue. Obviously, Elemoret is going to Bloors. I don't think it's all that great, but I'll update soon.. I think. :/

Oh, by the way. I think you've noticed that this isn't yet titled. I haven't decided yet. Help me choose a title? If it helps, Elle's endowment is control over the 4 elements. Earth, fire, water, and wind.

R&R!

~tubs


	2. DrBloor

Okay, so I've decided to try and update Chapter One, just so you get an idea of the story. You know? Alright, so here we go. **No! I don't own Charlie, the King, Bloors, etc. This all belongs to Jenny Nimmo. **I only own Elle..

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The thing flew forward, or was it backwards? Out stepped a tall, burly, bald man. He looked like the gardener, since he wore overalls with large grass stains covering them.

"Name?" He requested gruffly.

"I'm Elemoret. Newburt. But you can call me Elle," She smiled back at him. Maybe he was nice.

"Elemoret? What a stupid name." He snorted, wiping away her smile. Okay, maybe he's not. "It's stupid I tell ya. Oh, I got it. Yer one of them endowed freaks or somting', ain't cha? Yeah, you gotta be, comin' so late in the sermerster. Whatever," he sneered, and then chuckled as if he said something funny. Elle was flushed, her cheeks red with anger.

With her teeth clenched, and her face burning, she responded, "Yes, _sir_. If you could _kindly_ spare a moment of your _oh so important _duties, wasting a moment of your busy life for a _scoundrel _like me, I'd _greatly_ appreciate it if you could escort me to Dr. Bloors office."

The man stared at the young girl, scrutinizing her as if trying to detect the sarcasm in her statement. Finally, he grunted, and swaggered almost drunkenly into the door. She didn't follow.

"Well?" he said.

"Eh? Do I follow or something?" Elle asked, her head tilted a bit.

"Do ya think ya should?" He snorted and resumed walking.

Elle rolled her eyes. Stupid old guy. Apparently, he was thinking the same thing, since he muttered "damn little kids.." as she came nearer. Like that wasn't expected. Although, she could choose a better insult. A bell rang and a ton of children poured from the doors. All of them wore short, colored capes and seemed to be walking nervously; their eyes shifting and their footsteps hurried. Some of them passed her and stared, some at the gardener, some at her. _Although_, Elle thought, _seems more like glares to the old geezer if you ask me. _The man just grunted and walked faster into the crowd, so that she had to hurry her footsteps to keep up. Soon the hall was free of children, and he slowed a bit.

It felt like hours that they had walked, although, maybe it was just the halls. Through those "hours", Elle had time to examine the place. All the walls were the same shade as the outside, a faint, washout gray tinted with black. Pictures and portraits of seemingly important people hung upon them and gothic style windows allowed light to pass in. The place seemed pretty outdated, yet mysterious and..cold. Yep, it was defiantly cold in there, even though outside it was nearly 70 degrees.

Finally, the group arrived at a large black door. Elle guessed it was Mr. Bloor's, since a silver-plated name was nailed to the entrance. Mr. Overalls turned and walked away, leaving her in the hall.

_How rude_. Elle scolded in her mind. Debating whether or not she should go through, Elle was unaware when a…something knocked her onto the ground. Rubbing her behind, the girl stood up to yell at the source, but decided not to when she saw his furious look. Gulping, Elle stared at the tall, skinny kid who looked right back at her. He had spiky blonde hair that stood up on odd angles and a slight tan. A wind flew around him and Elle couldn't help but wonder if he was endowed too. Deciding to talk to him, Elle said, "Erm, sorry. I'm Elle, and, uh, I guess I'm new."

"Tancred Torsson." He replied and walked off.

Elle couldn't help but stick her tongue out at his retreating back.(1) Then she knocked on the door next to her and stepped in.

The place was a mess. Papers were everywhere and furniture laid all over it. A bookshelf was overturned and a desk lay on its side. A tall man stood shaking his head. He was dressed in a suit, but she could clearly see muscles through it. He had salt and pepper hair and a small mustache that would make Hitler proud.(2)

He looked at her as she walked in. He sighed and picked up is desk. He proceeded in cleaning the room, but then said "Don't just stand there" without looking at her. Her turn to sigh. Elle hated cleaning. With another sigh, she swept her hand as inconspicuously as she could and blew the bookshelf back up, books and all. She wasn't as unsuspicious as she thought though, as the man looked up abruptly and said, "Ah, the new endowed. Elemoret, correct?"

Praying he was a sympathetic person, Elle nodded. She swept her hand again and everything flew back to where she thought it should be. The man smirked in approval and sat in his replaced chair. Motioning for her to sit down, the man introduced himself. "Dr. Bloor, principal. I apologize for the mess, a storm-bringer was just here." He didn't sound like he meant it though, and scowled at the mention of the boy.

"Oh yeah. I just saw him." Elle said. He nodded.

"Not all endowed know how to control their…unique talents, " he seemed to struggle to say this. "Like I hear you can."

"Mmm.." She didn't really know how to respond.

"Well, now that you're here, what exactly is your talent anyway?"

The man didn't seem like the accepting type. He struggled to say 'talent', like he wished to say something else, like 'freakiness'.

"I can, err, control the 4 elements." Elle said.

"I thought there were 5?"

"Nah, lightning is part of fire, in my opinion, but I can't control in anyway.." She said.

Nodding, Dr. Bloor stood up and began pacing. "Well, as the schools head teacher, it is my job to tell you how things run around here." He launched into a full explanation of the rules and codes that the school had, also explaining the procedures students followed. He taught her how each color and entrance lead to different departments ("You'll be placed in art you know.") as well as how there were separate cafeterias to eat in, except for diner, where everyone dined together. Halfway through it, though, Elle had tuned out, still hearing him, but not quite listening. (3)

"Do you understand?" He asked, signaling the end. Nodding absently, Elle just mumbled something. Dr. Bloor cleared his throat and handed her a schedule. "If you need and=y assistance, go to Emma Tolly. She's in the same department as you, but a year younger. Of course you could always go to storm-boy and the African kid…." he suddenly cleared his throat again and continued. "Well, session dismissed." The principal waved her away and returned to her work.

The young girl left the office.

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Well that's the end… of the chapter. And yeah. Here are some notes:

(1) He was RUDE! I would do that…

(2) Err..yeah. It's kind of an insider thing, but basically a Hitler mustache.

(3) Umm.. I'm not sure how to describe this but you know when you kinda space out, but you can still hear and see everything around you? Yeah, that. I'm told only some people can do this, and I can, so sorry if you don't get it..

Mhm. Well, see you next chapter!

R&R!

~tubs.


	3. Billy

Okay, so here's the next chapter, numero 2. Yep, okay, so it seems like almost no ones reading this, but oh well… I just _have _to write this and get it out of my head or I'll go crazy. Ahem. Yes, well on with the story!

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Elle walked out of the office and tried to use a map from the principal to find her way to the cafeteria. Unfortunately, the girl was horrible at reading it and ended up getting lost in the castle-like school. Currently, the girl found herself just before a staircase. Sighing, Elle backed up against the wall and sat down, thinking, _Okay Elle, get a hold of yourself. Ummm…Let's see. It's about 7 o'clock, so you've been wandering around for about… 3 hours. _Elle's head snapped up, shocked. 3 hours? She missed dinner! And she hadn't gotten to eat lunch or breakfast either.

As if on cue, her stomach gave a long grumble. She groaned loudly, wishing she were back at home, sitting at her dining table with a huge table setting in front of her; white piles of mashed potatoes with thick, creamy gravy drizzled over it, freshly cut honey ham, sweet delicious dessert just waiting to be devoured….Shaking her head, Elle focused on her situation. She wasn't at home anymore, and wouldn't be back until the end of the week. Instead she was stuck at Bloor's Academy, a school for "gifted and talented children."

_Wait…_

A school! That's it! There had to be kids everywhere, and it was only 7, so there was two hours left until nights out, two nice long hours to wander around the castle. Two glorious hours for someone to find her and enough time to eat dinner before she had to retire to her room. There _had _to be at least one child creeping about the halls. No one but a goody-good could resist!

With new-found hope, Elle descended down the stairs and walked across the hall. After walking for a bit, the girl frowned. The place was deathly quiet and here wasn't a soul to be found. She heard the faintest sound of rustling papers from doors around her but she didn't want to just barge into a classroom and ask for directions. It would seem to odd.

Then she heard a footstep. She turned her head sharply, looking for the noise. It was very quiet and could be missed very easily, but there were no other noises to distract her. Elle held on to that shred of hope and listened. After a moment, she heard it again, the unmistakable squeak of sneakers. Elle allowed a grateful smile to cross her face and then ran down the large hall towards the source.

Elle stopped as she saw a boy, who looked oddly young to be attending the school. He had thin white hair that was shaped in an almost-bowl cut. He wore huge glasses that magnified his blood red eyes and gave him a scared appearance. He also had scrawny features that were accented by a bright blue cape. The boy looked at her a bit confused, but greeted her nonetheless. "Hello, I'm Billy Raven. I can't say I've seen you around before, though. What department are you in anyway? Your lucky Manfred isn't here, or he'd bust you for not wearing your cape. " He stuck out his hand for her to shake it.

She took it and gave the younger boy's hand a weak swing. Elle hadn't exactly caught what he said, but she had heard the important things, or she thought she did. "Hey, I'm Elemoret Newburt, but you can call be Elle. It's nice to meet you Bobby. Who's Manfred though?"

The boy frowned, "It's Billy." Elle blushed and muttered a quick apology, but he just shrugged it off. She sighed, _so much for a good impression_. "Manfred's this err.. rather scary guy who has the power to hypnotize people. He's the head boy, and he gets to give you detention for breaking the rules, which you are doing right now. It's homework time, you know, so you shouldn't be here. Do you need help getting back to your classroom? What house are you in by the way?"

That triggered something in Elle's brain. Scrambling with her pack, Elle grabbed her schedule and glanced at it. Sure enough, it was homework time. In small script, it said _go to the Red King's room. Asked another endowed for directions. _Elle frowned, where was she going to find another endowed? "I'm new sorry." She offered, as he looked confused at her pulling her schedule out. "I'm in art. Do you by chance know where the 'Red King's room' is?"

Billy brightened. "Your endowed?" She just nodded, a bit weirded out by his excited tone. "Cool! Of course I know where it is, I'm endowed too. I can talk to animals and stuff," he said, looking at her a little awkwardly as he said the last part. He was obviously somewhat embarrassed by his talent. Clearing his throat, he resumed speaking, "Well, err you can follow me I guess."

So together, Billy and Elle walked down the hall to the room.

The room was, surprisingly, not very far from where she had been before. It was actually only a few doors away from the wall she sat at. (1) Billy motioned for her to be quiet, and then opened the door. Inside there was a circle of children, 11 she counted, around a large round table. The tallest spoke first, scolding Billy for being away for so long. The albino shrugged and scurried toward a spot next to a floppy haired boy. The boy spoke again, except it was directed at her. "And just who exactly are you?"

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Alright, so if you haven't noticed that's the end of the chapter. And yeah, Elle has a horrible sense of direction. So yep, info you may need:

1- You know at the beginning of the chapter? Yeah, that one, although I'm not sure whether the room is supposed to be upstairs or not, since I don't have the book on me….

Hmmm…. Well, that's it!

Oh wait, I forgot. **I don't own Children of the Red King. Jenny Nimmo does. I wish I did, but I only have Elle. **

Alright, now that's it. Bye!

R&R. (Anonymous reviews are cool too, but I can't respond unless you give me some form of contact. ;)

~tubs.


	4. Manfred

Okay! So apparently, some people (even though I only got 4 reviews..3 from the same person) actually read this! I know that it isn't a lot, but that doesn't matter. I can't believe that! So, thankies ducky lover 151! 3 **Oh, and I don't own and of the people, places, plot, etc. from the Children of the Red King series (a.k.a Charlie Bone). Jenny Nimmo does! **Alrighty? Okay..

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The man looked straight at her. He had dark, pitch-black hair that grew to about his mid-back, but it was tied with a simple red ribbon. His greasy hair perfectly matched his deep eyes, and Elle found them very intimidating. The seemed to stare straight through her. "And _who_ exactly are you?"

The question seemed to catch many of the room's inhabitants attention, seeing as a bit more than half of them glanced upwards to hear he answer. One specifically caught her eye, but as she tried to remember where she had seen him, the deep drawling voice called to her. "Well?"

Elle looked around, startled. Seeing no one beside her, she pointed to herself an asked "Me?"

Rolling his eyes, the guy replied. "_Nooo_, I meant my imaginary friend George. Yes you!"

With a huff, Elle focused back on the head student, if that was what he was. She set her face in a frown and placed her hands on her waist, a habit she had picked up when she got annoyed. The young girl glared at the man. He was seriously getting on her nerves, even though he barely said a handful of words. "Well, _excuse me _for trying to clarify. I don't think George would have liked it if I answered for him. If you must know, I'm Elemoret Newburt, but call me Elle."

The man sneered, "Well, Elemoret-"

"Elle." She said. As she saw that the man was about to protest, she quickly carried on. "No, I don't want to hear your crappy (1) speech about how you only call students by their first names or whatever. So save it. I refuse to be called Elemoret, so just make both our lives easier and say it with me: Ell-eee. "

Scowling, the man glared at her. "Well then Elle, what's your class so I can give you a detention. Though, I should give you more for that little speech you just made."

The word detention struck a cord in her brain._He's the head boy, and he gets to give you detention for breaking the rules, which you are doing right now. _Elle almost shouted eureka, but thought against it. That was Manfred! She distinctly remembered Dr. Bloor saying something about him. He was the head and his son and….. something else. Too bad she couldn't remember it. Again she was snapped out of her thoughts by the Manfred man. "Well? You shouldn't have to think about it you know."

Again, Elle scowled at him. Then, she put on an innocent face. "Sorry, I had trouble thinking about what class I was in when I hadn't been assigned any! Did I forget to mention I was new? "

Two snorts came in unison, each sounding male and coming from the back of the room. Most people turned to look at them, including Manfred and Elle. The quieter one came from a skinny African boy. He had dark skin and shoulder length dread locks. The louder sound, however, resounded from a skinny and slightly smaller boy. He had sharp, crackling yellow hair, each strand spiked to perfection and he looked familiar. As Elle looked closer, she could see a quiet breeze blowing around the 2nd boy, and it hit her. _It's that storm kid! Umm…Tancred! I think.. _

"Shut it Torsson. You too Sage." The man-who-could-be-Manfred retorted.

The dark-skinned boy smiled good naturedly. "Sorry Manfred. Tanc said this real funny joke do you wanna hear it? It goes, what do you call-(2)"

"I don't want to hear it! Just get back to work," Manfred hissed. Then he looked back at Elle. "Well Ms. Sassy,-" another frown "-now that it's settled who you are, and I can't give you detentions in the first week of your term, would you mind telling us your department."

It wasn't a question. Still, Elle faked a smile and answered, "Why, of course not! I'm in art! How silly of me to forget to tell you that."

A gasp rang, sharp and clear. Elle looked strangely at the source; a small, blonde girl had suddenly looked up at her. "You're Elemoret, the new endowed, aren't you? I'm Emma, I'm supposed to guide you and stuff."

Manfred looked up with new interest. No, not only Manfred, the whole room. Especially the Tancred kid. But of course he was interested. He was the first to see her, and he hadn't seen anything unusual about the girl. "Well, now, a new endowed, huh?" He sighed. "I heard there was another one coming, but I didn't expect another troublemaker. Well? What do you do?"

Elle chewed her lip nervously, silently cursing her bad luck. She had hoped to keep her 'talent' a secret, but she knew it wasn't a great decision to defy the wishes of the principal's son. She took a deep breathe and said, shakily, "I control stuff…To be exact, I can control the elements."

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Ka-Bam! I realized that my chapters are pretty short, and I'm sorry about that. I really wish I had the skill to make them longer, but sadly, I don't. I apologize sincerely.

And here are them notes!:

1. Yeah, she said crappy. I find it odd how in all the books I've read (up to like..6) none of the character's have cussed once. I know it's a kids book, but still. Tanc is 13 with anger problems! It's impossible for him not to cuss. So in my story, there will be mild cursing.

2. The joke is "what do you call cheese that ain't chors?? Nacho Cheese!" Do you get it? Chors is said like chores, you know? Yeah…It's not that funny, but whatever.

And that's it for now! Buh-bye!

R&R~!

~tubs.


	5. Fighting and Olivia

**Now, I'll be darned. Haha…just had to say it. Anywho..OMG! I can't believe it! Like 3 people put me on their favorites/watch lists. To me, that seriously means a lot. So thanks to ****MizuKitsune10****, ****pepperpie****, and ****duckie lover 151**** [again]. Wooohooo! And by the way, I don't own Charlie Bone, or anything else from the Children of the Red King Series. All credit should go to Jenny Nimmo!** My only creation is Elle, and possibly future characters, though, I'm not sure if there are any….

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She took a deep breathe and said, shakily, "I control stuff…To be exact, I can control the elements."

Many things happened at that moment.

A fly died, and then another 100 were born. The wind picked up, the waves crashed violently, the earth shook a bit, and every flame on sparked high.

But this all happened, and stopped, in a span of just a few seconds. People who were outside experienced it, but it went away just as fast, leaving a very confused crowd.

In the room, a number of events occurred to.

The right side, the one with all the nicer looking children, gasped or said "No way!" or "whaaa?" or "Holy pie!" or something related to this.

The meaner left side grimaced or gaped.

Manfred paled more than normal, then began coloring. Fast.

Elle just looked confused._ I swear this is the endowed people's rooms. What's so surprising? _"Um, sorry, but is there something wrong with my endowment? I don't know what you think, but it's perfectly fine. Perfectly fine."

Manfred was currently a very bright shade of red. He slowly began moving his mouth, then closing it, then opening it again like he couldn't form the right word. Elle couldn't help but snicker a little to herself; he looked quite like a fish. But before she could comment, he began talking. "What's wrong? _What's wrong_? I think the question should be what's right!" As he talked, the man began pacing and rapidly losing his temper. "You should know that we have another endowed child who's quite a pain already. Do you know why? No, of course you don't! He's a storm bringer. _A storm bringer_! You can't possibly imagine how much chaos just one kid can make, how much one kid can cost! It's a giant pain in the neck it is! He costs hundreds! We may be a rich family, but that does not mean it makes it any easier to stay up with these prices! Christ, now there's two-"

"Actually, dear, there aren't." Elle said with a soft smile.

Manfred looked at her with a crazed look that would have rivaled any madman's. "What do you mean there aren't? You said it yourself, you can control the elements."

Elle looked up at him and couldn't help but snort. He looked absolutely livid then, like he would blow up at any second. "Yes, I did say that. But, there are two key words you missed. I do believe I said 'Control the elements'. I said _elements_. Not weather or anything else your teeny little ears may have heard, elements. You know, water, wind, earth, and fire? Those. And-"

"What's the difference?" asked Emma quietly.

"Difference, darling the difference is clear! Weather is the state of our atmosphere in temperature, moisture, cloudiness, and etc. The elements are the original states of our whole entire universe! Everything is made of the elements, like a whole ocean is water, right? Not weather, though it may fill up from the rain.(1)Now, if I may continue," Elle said, looking at anyone, daring them to interrupt. No one did, save for Manfred's would-be protests, but he soon gave up on them. "I do believe I said there were two key things. The second? I can _control_ them. I can't just _use_ them, I have full, nearly 100% power over them. I don't normally go out of control. Does that answer you, Manny?"

Manfred didn't seam to notice the childish nickname as he prepared to burst out again. But as he opened his mouth, a boy with unruly black hair and who looked about 12ish, exclaimed, "Well, look at the time. It's just about 8! Time to go!" and he raced out of the room.

After a good 10 seconds, he followed by a mob of children who the prefect(2) couldn't control. Elle was one of the first ones; she grabbed he bags as fast as she could and ran out yelling, "It's been a real pleasure meeting you Manny!"

~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~

Elle looked down from the same window as before. Sighing, she slid to the floor again, on the same wall, and took a look at her map. She stared at it for a few seconds, then frowned, putting it back. It was hopeless, she had such a horrible coordination skills.

After leaving the room, Elle had wandered to where she _thought _the dorms were, but ended up getting hopelessly lost. And for the second time, the girl found herself against the faded grey walls of Bloor's. Elle thought the would be tons of children walking around, but so far none had come out from wherever they were. And the worst part was that this time, she couldn't find any traces of people, not even one footstep!

Her head jolted up. _Apparently I've had spoken to soon_, thought Elle as she strained her neck to hear the pattering noises. There were 2 very different noises, so it had to be a couple of people. She heard the steps getting closer and in desperations, yelled "Hey!"

2 people focused into her view. One was Emma, with her pale blond hair and skinny complexion. She was donned in a cotton white nightgown, though, and wore small white slippers. The second person was quite different from her companion. She had Bright, bright neon orange hair with tuffs of black running through it. Her gown was a satin-looking black with orange trimming and her slippers had small stuffed tiger heads (A/N: fake of course, I hate when people wear real animal skin. It's abuse!) on the front. She looked ready for Halloween.

No one spoke or a bit, until the oddly dressed girl started. "Well, you're the infamous Elle are you?"

Elle grinned, a bit confused. "Infamous am I? What did I do this time?"

The girl smiled back, though hers was badly hiding some amusement. "Oh yes, you sure are. A little birdie(3)-" Emma blushed "-told me a bit about your…confrontation to our dear head boy Manfred. Quite funny, I think. He did seem blazing mad when he marched past us a bit ago."

Elle laughed. She liked the girl, though Emma seemed to quite. Nice, defiantly nice, and friendly, but awfully quiet. "Well, thanks, I try my best. Life's no good without a good laugh.(A/N: It's true!) And it's okay for you to tell people Emma, I'm not going to eat you. But who're you?"

"Olivia Vertigo at your service. If you're wondering at the hair, I'm in drama. We tend to be just a little more over the top. But I think we should bring this conversation to the dorms, it's a tad bit late and Matron will have our heads if we stay out much longer. If you are who I think you are, I think you're bunking with us this year."

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Well, that the end! Livy's so cool, I don't see how you can't like her! Well, except that she's slightly temperamental, and overdramatic, but I think she and I would get along quite nicely. Info you might wanna know:

1. The credit to my definitions goes to one of my favorite web sites ever, Dictionary . com. It's changed a little, since putting the definition would make Elle seem too weird, cause no one I know speaks like that. Oh, and if you think it's lame for me to absolutely adore dictionary . com, well… **Screw. You.**

2. The prefect is Manfred. Duhhh… J

3. Haha…that's my very discrete [in my opinion] reference to Emma. She obviously would have told Olivia.

Well, that's about it! Until next time readers! Don't do drugs and stay insane!

R&R!

~tubs.


	6. George Who?

YAY! I thought my story sucked, but a lot (well, to me at least) of people apparently think otherwise. I'm inspired. Oh, and before I forget, I'd like to thank duckie lover 151 for her incredible idea for this story. I probably would never have thought of it, but it's all good since she told me. It makes the chapter a lot better. My ideas for this one…kind of sucked. L But I have new inspiration! **Jenny Nimmo owns this. 'This' as in Charlie and the gang. Bloor's too. Well, basically everything but Elle, George (I think..), and this plot.. **You should know that by now. J

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Lysander Sage had a really good feeling that something was wrong with Tancred. Call it 'best friend intuition' if you will, but he knew the young storm bringer was seriously bothered. He just had a hunch. A really good hunch. A really, really good hunch. A seriously gut-wrenching hunch. One that nagged as much as his mom, screaming for him to go and check on his friend.

Or maybe, just perhaps, it was just the weather.

Lysander slowly opened the dorm door, which was barely in tact, and stuck his head in, then pulled it out faster than a normal person should have been able to. Nothing was abnormal in there; just a bit of quite heavy rain and some, oh, about 200 miles per hour wind. Nothing strange at all.

Lysander sat back down by the wrecked door, sliding down the wall. He looked at the ceiling, smiling, and thought, _Definitely best friend's intuition_.

~~with Tanc~~

Tancred Torsson stared at his, or rather Bloor's, ceiling. To anyone who didn't know him, or saw his surroundings, he might have seemed perfectly fine, save for his clenched fist and a slightly throbbing vein protruding from his forehead. The boy may have also been completely oblivious to the fierce storm raging about him, wetting and unsettling everything and anything in it's path. Well, almost anything. He was left untouched.

But, no, the boy was not calm. And he wasn't oblivious to his surroundings, heck, he had caused it! He obviously wasn't calm either, and if anyone was in head, they would know that. No, they wouldn't only know that, they'd know why. [A/N: this paragraph has a lot of no's and know's.. Hehe..]

_Ohhh, look at me! I can control my powers! _Tancred thought to himself, his brain creating a horribly high, squeaky falsetto for the girl. He snorted. _Pshhh…! Nobody gives a damn!…Or actually the probably do don't they? Oh well, that's not the point! Oh god, am I getting ADD? Wait, that's not the point either. Anyway, who does she think she is?!? Elle was her name, I think. Pft. Some show off she is. I'm so cool, I can control the elements! Yippee! _His thoughts sounded, resorting to the fake voice again, though he was perfectly aware it sounded nothing like her. Tancred groaned, in his mind of course. _Ugh, that little slimy twit. I bet she said all that stuff to make fun of me!_

Another voice, on more mature sounding, popped into his thoughts. _You know, she could have not known about your power and was merely standing up for herself, which by the way, I applaud her for. She did an exceptional- _

Tancred looked around him as he nearly jumped off his torn-up bed in surprise. _Who was that? _He thought for a fraction of a second, then added as a side note, _And who says exceptional anymore?_

The unknown voice-person-thing snorted. _It's rude to interrupt! And_ _I'll have you know that plenty of people use that word! Your brain is just too tiny to comprehend that it is a fine word to say. Anyways, I'm your conscious, oh smart one. You know, I've always been apart of you, you just never listened to me. I kind of gave up on you, but hey, you looked like you needed some help. I'm George by the way, it's a pleasure for you to finally notice me. _

Tancred tried not to laugh, but it was unsuccessful. _Conscious? You mean that whole devil and angel thing? That's only in cartoons and stuff, no? And plus my conscious would have the same name as me right? I know my name isn't George. _

_No! _George said. _I really wish I knew who did that whole devil/angel thing, I really want to strangle him. That __NEVER__, I repeat __NEVER__, happens, to anyone. No person has two separate conscious's that tell him the right and wrong thing to do. You have __**one**__! One and only one. And it's not only in cartoons, or I wouldn't be here would I? And plus, I hate cartoon people's conscious's. They don't come out just whenever you know. They only come out when they're need, not when you don't know if you should give Kuzco the potion or not!(1)_

Tancred forgot his unanswered question immediately, and also forgot to ask who Kuzco was. _Wait, I need a conscious? Right now? Why?_

Unnoticed to the storm boy, the storm was half as bad now.

_I don't know. _The voice, George, said annoyed_. I just had a feeling you needed me! Now, can we get back to your original problem? The one with that new girl_?

Too soon the storm roared back to it's original state. Tancred nearly growled. _Oh, right, her. Did you hear her? I can control the-_

_Yeah I know. _George said, making Tancred frown. Wasn'the, or it, or…whatever the one who said interrupting was rude? _As I said before, she may have been trying to defend herself against Manfred! Maybe she was unaware or your endowment. _

_Unaware? _Tancred laughed. _How could she be 'unaware' ? Manny made it perfectly clear that I have a little "problem' controlling my powers! And she went into Bloor's office right after me. It was a MESS! The principal probably blabbed to her about me too, since he always does that to people. _

George was quiet for a long time, making Tancred believe he was right. Then: _Okay, look at it this way then. If she could control the elements then she would most likely be a descendant of Petrello, like you and Dagbert.(2) And if she's from him, then the girl probably has trouble controlling her emotions, like you. She might be able to control her power, but no one I've ever met, or rather you've ever met, can completely mask their anger. The best I've seen is Lysander, and not even he can do that! Anger makes people forget themselves._

The boy considered the logic. It was true. He had no choice but to cave in. But he couldn't help but think George sounded like Lysander…

_Oh really? Thank you! He's a wonderful role model, you know, nothing like you._

The storm ceased.

"You cool now, Tanc?" His African friend said, walking into the pretty destroyed room, though he acted as if nothing was wrong.

Tancred nodded, not noticing that his friend had waited outside the whole time. "I think so, thanks to George."

"Who?"

"My conscious. I think I'll turn in now." The boy turned over and almost fell asleep when he heard "Okay…At least one of us is sane…Not you of course…"

He chuckled to himself. Yeah, definitely like Lysander.

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That's it until next time. I know Elle wasn't in it, but this helps develops my plot a bit more. George might show up again, I don't really know….

1. You know, from the _Emperor's New School_…?

2. I also borrowed duckie's idea for this. Sorry I didn't tell you before hand. (if you happen to be reading this duckie lover)

Right, well that's it. Have a cool summer, since schools out (for me at least…).

As always, R&R!

~tubs.


	7. The Food Sucks

Okay, so now that I'm on summer break, I'll be updating a lot more. And I mean a lot. I'm bored and this thing isn't finished, so voila. Anywho, to get this out of the was I'll say that **I don't own anything related to or coming from the Children of the Red King Series, that's all Jenny Nimmo's stuff. I refuse to claim making it, cause it's not true. All I own so far are Elle and possibly George. **Now, on with chapter…6? Or was it 5?…oh well.

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Elle sneezed. _Huh, someone's either thinking or talking about me._(1) Blinking, she looked up from around her breakfast. No one was looking at her…

"Is everything okay?" Emma asked, just as quietly as ever.

Elle quickly flashed a smile to reassure her statement. "Yeah, it's all cool."

Emma nodded and ate her food again, though Elle wished she could do the same. She weakly poked at the whiteish… mush that sat in front of her. Scowling, she took a bite. _Bleh, oatmeal. _She hated oatmeal. A lot. It was so nasty.

"Hey, Ems?" the girl said, using the nickname she had made the previous night. Emma looked up. Adopting a serious tone, and look, Elle continued. "How on this great planet of Earth can you eat this stuff!?"

For a moment, the other girl didn't move. Then she burst out laughing.

Elle sat stunned. It was the first time she had seen Emma laugh, so she supposed it was a good thing. But she couldn't help but wonder why she was. So she did the simplest thing anyone would have done. "Huh?"

The blond girl ceased after a few more seconds. Then she answered: "I forgot, you've never had the food here. But, as a bit of advice, I'd say you should get used to it. We normally get nothing better than this, except for those days where Mrs. Weedon feels nice. And that's just about…Once a semester?"

Elle stared, not blinking. "Are you serious!? I have to eat this…lump of stuff for the whole year?!?" Elle was already using hand motions now, waving her hands everywhere. Some students looked at her with you-are-crazy-ma'am glances, but she didn't notice. Emma nodded. Elle's eye twitched. "Who's Mrs. Weedon?"

Emma sighed, and Elle noticed she had just finished her-gloop-of-what-the-Bloor's-call-food. The girl looked her in the face and asked, "So what exactly do you know about Bloor's?"

Elle started from the basics. "I know that I'm in 7th grade, and am in the art department. I know my schedule, but I don't know where each class is. I know that I have to wear a cape everywhere I go except for outside. I am aware that Manfred Bloor is no longer a student, but rather a teaching assistant who can hypnotize students, although he isn't authorized to abuse that power. I…" She paused to remember the rules. "Umm…I know that I am supposed to be asleep by 9, and that I am supposed to go to the king's room after dinner. I know where the cafeterias and the dining hall are, but I don't know how to get to them. I also know that Tancred Torsson is a storm bringer and that Billy Raven doesn't have any parents so he stays at the school."

Emma stared, her eyes looking surprised. "That's it?" When the other girl nodded, she sighed. "Well, I suppose I should fill you in then. As for the cafeterias and stuff, you can just follow me until you know your way around." The blond girl explained the basic rules of the place, which Elle actually paid attention to.

"I think that almost covers it, and as long as you keep out of trouble then you don't really need to know the more complex rules. As for other students, I think you should know the other endowed. The oldest one is Dorcas Loom. She's in 9th grade. Next are you, Tancred and Lysander, all in 7th. Charlie, Gabriel, Dagbert, Ideth and Inez, Joshua, and me are all in 6th. I suppose you could say Billy is too, but he's actually only 9." (1)

Elle nodded. She had heard Billy was younger than everyone else. _So, now that I know a lot, I suppose I can't get in trouble…Okay actually, scratch that. I'll probably still do everything. I'm probably going to get millions of detentions. How could you not talk in the halls! _"But who're the teachers?"

Emma smiled softly. "The one's you should look out for are the Weedons; Mr. Weedon's this grumpy gardener and Mrs. is the cook and matron of the Art department. There are a lot of other teachers too; Dr. Saltweather, Ms. Tilpin(2), . I can list a lot more, but I actually don't know them all, so if you're going to ask anyone, I'd ask Lysander since he's been here longer than me."

Elle nodded, and then a deep chime sounded. "Well, I suppose I should get to class. Do you know where the-" she looked at her schedule- "history room is?"

~~with Tancred~~

"Hey, Tanc," tried Lysander again, unsuccessfully. The African boy sighed. "Earth to Tanc! Ugh. Hey!"

At the last hey, he lightly hit the other boy's head, causing him to come out of his trance." Huh?" Tancred said dumbly.

Lysander shook his head. "What on Earth are you staring at?"

The blond storm bringer smiled sheepishly. "That new girl."

"Tancred," began the other boy seriously. "I know that we are perfectly healthy-well sort of- 13 year old boys and puberty is an unstoppable force, but please try to keep your hor-"

"NO! Not like that!" Tancred cried, flushing. "I was just, like, you know… Okay let me start from the top."

He told his best friend about his talk with George, and how the conscious had told him it's suspicions of her ancestor. He had actually not been checking her out, but rather looking to see if she had any distinguishing features, since she was from the same ancestor as himself and Dagbert, who were obviously different; Tancred with his alarming lightning-like hair and faint breeze, and Dagbert with his fishy smell, stringy blue hair and all to pale appearance. Surprisingly, Elle had seemed perfectly normal, wavy brown hair, a healthy color, no odors or breezes. The only different attributes he could find was that she was slightly taller than most girl in her, and apparently his, grade and her eyes were a silvery blue. He refrained from telling his friend that he found her slightly attractive, but he did explain everything else.

Lysander laughed. "Look Tanc, maybe she _is_ a descendant of Petrello like you, but I highly doubt that everyone who is from him looks different from other people. No offence." He added quickly, casting a glance at his friend. "Anyways, you don't really know that she's from him-she could be from anyone. Why don't you just ask her?"

Tancred considered that for a second, but rejected it. "How am I going to do that? Just walk up to her and say, 'Hey, I don't know you but are you a descendant of Petrello?' Sorry but I don't think that she'd answer that."

Sander nodded. "True. Then let's talk to her."

The other boy smiled. "And how am I going to do that? I don't know where she is."

Another voice interrupted. "Excuse me, but do you know where the history room is?"

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The end(of this chapter)! I know that this chapter really sucks; it's not funny or anything at all! For that, I deeply apologize, I couldn't really think for it. Though, I did try to add some filler information just incase people were wondering, and I added Elle's age! She is 13, if you did not notice…

1. For everyone else's age, I kind of guesses. I do know that Tanc and Sander are a year older than the rest of the 'good' gang, but I don't know about everyone else. I also left out Asa, if you didn't notice, because although I love his character almost as much as I love Fidelio (which you will learn is a lot, but not as much a Tancred; Fidelio's like my 3rd favorite.), I figured that after he helped the good kids and escaped the Bloor's, he wouldn't go to the school anymore. Heck, they probably wouldn't let him. This is set after the 6th book by the way, I don't remember if I mentioned that.

2. Tilpin is Mrs. Crystal. It might be a slight spoiler if you haven't read book 6, but oh well. I kept her since I don't think the Bloor's would let her go but the gang (Charlie and folk) aren't going to like her anymore.

And yes, I am aware that Elle has met Weedon already, even though this chapter makes her seem like she doesn't know him. And it's because she doesn't. Well, she doesn't remember meeting him at least. You see, Elle is loosely (_very_ loosely) based on yours truely, and I have hard times remembering things that my brain deems as 'unnecissary information.' Meeting Weedon would, to me, be 'unecissary information' so Elle doesn't remember who he is.

I also added a description of what Elle looks like, since it probably is important, at least I think it is. I'm going to try to find a picture of what she may look like, but don't count on it. :)

R&R!

~tubs.


	8. Stalker

OH YEAH! I gots another fan! Or well, that's in my opinion. They added me to their favorites so that's considered "having a fan" right? Anywho, here we are at the next chapter of..well Untitled. Thanks all you people who have given me name suggestions but I'm afraid it still doesn't feel right… Anywho, I'd like to mention, yet again, that** Charlie Bone and anything else related to the series don't belong to me, but rather Jenny Nimmo. I only own Elle and this plot that I'm making up as I go along.**

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"Excuse me, but do you know where the history room is?" a voice asked.

The two boys turned around. Behind them was precisely who they were talking about. "Hello Elle." said Lysander.

Elle was confused as looked at the two boys. _He knows my name? That's a tad bit stalker-ish.. Oh wait, they're endowed, I think.._ "Um, hello..?"

The African boy laughed a little bit, confusing the girl. "I forgot, we haven't met before. I'm Lysander, the friendlier one. This is Tancred, the meaner one."

Tancred scowled and said to his friend, "That is not true!" He was flushed a little though, since it was kind of strange that she popped up when he happened to be talking about her. He turn to Elle and gave her a small grin. "I'm Tancred."

Elle smiled. "I noticed. But, although I'm sure we'd get along, I have to find my way to class. So, do one of you guys know where I can find the history room?"

Lysander shook his head. "I do, but my class is in the opposite direction." He then glanced at his blond friend. "Although…"

Tancred cut him off sighing, "I've got that class too, so you wanna walk with me?"

The brunette nodded gratefully. "Sure, thanks."

Just as she said it, a bell rang, alerting students of the 2 minute time before class started. Lysander looked up. "Well, I ought to get going, so I'll see you both later."

The boy left, leaving the two to walk to their class. It was an awkward silence at first, the kind you normally get when you first meet someone. Daring to break it, Tancred asked "Well, you wanna head out now?"

"Eh?" Elle snapped back into reality, since she was kind of spacing out. "Oh, yeah." They began walking, well, actually Tancred walked, Elle just followed. "Sooo.."

"Sooo…" the storm boy agreed.

"Err… what's your 'talent'?" Elle asked.

Tancred stared at her like she was crazy. "You don't know?"

She looked confused. Raising an eyebrow, she asked "Sorry, should I?"

"No it's just that.." the boy shook his head. "Well, I thought Manfred made it kind of clear when he-"

"Ooohhh…He meant you?" She said suddenly.

Tancred grew a little agitated. "Yeah, he meant me. Do you see anymore storm-bringers?"

Hesitantly, Elle answered. "No, well, I didn't mean to make it sound like that. What I meant is, well, that's kind of cool." The girl laughed nervously as she admitted it.

Tancred blushed, looking away._ No one's really told me that before…_ "Umm..thanks."

Again the group fell into an uncomfortable silence, although this time each person was thinking.

_I can't believe I just told him that! How embarrassing. Ugh… Now he must think I'm weird or something along those lines._ She frowned._ Stupid, stupid, stupid…_

Tancred smiled. _She thinks it's cool. How strange, in a good way_.

George chuckled. _Well, it must have taken a lot of guts to say that_.

_Eh?_ the storm boy wondered. _It's nice to see you back, but what do you mean?_

Sighing, George said, _Never mind. Anyway, you might want to tell her that you're at class_.

Tancred looked up, and saw the classroom. He was about to tell Elle about it, but then frowned. Why is she hitting herself? "Umm..Elle? You alright?"

The girl looked up, stopping her hand from coming in contact with her forehead. She smiled sheepishly. "Oh, uh yeah. Are we there?"

Tancred had to keep himself from laughing. "Yep."

**~~After Class~~**

Surprisingly, the history class was fun. Well, more fun than her old class. _I always did like history. _Elle thought. _And Mr. Stevens(1) is pretty cool. _

She packed up to leave when a pale hand landed on her desk. Looking up she saw her new friend. "Hey Tancred."

The boy smiled. "Hey. So what class do you have next?"

Elle got out her schedule. "Umm… I have sculpting."

Tancred laughed. "Weird, I do too."

Elle smiled and said "Maybe we have the same schedule." as the boy began leading her to the next room.

He looked over her shoulder. "Hm… we do."

Elle gaped at him. "No way?"

"History, sculpture, break, English, math, painting, break, science, and then language arts?"

Elle laughed then grew serious. "Stalker."

Tancred smiled. "Yep." Pause. "Wait what?"

Elle whistled pathetically, since she didn't have the ability to. Tancred laughed and said "You wish."

"Ahahahaha..LYSANDER!" Elle yelled as an excuse.

"What?" Tancred replied dumbly.

Surprisingly enough, Lysander did happen to be there and looked at the two strangely. Walking over to them, he said 'You called?"

Elle grinned. "Not really no. But hello anyways."

Tancred rolled his eyes. Lysander smiled. "Well, seems like you two are getting along."

Elle nodded. Tancred muttered an incoherent answer. "So, do you have the same schedule as me?"

Lysander raised his eyebrows and looked at the schedule that was thrust under his face. "Well, except for 1st period yeah."

Elle smiled. "Cool."

**~~with Manfred~~**

"Stupid rules…stupid children…stupid loud-mouthed brat…stupid no detention in the first week law…stupid…stupid…stupid…" Manfred muttered as he stared at Elle in the hall, wishing he could make her stay the extra day.

"You okay?" Dagbert said, concerned for his role model.

Manfred groaned. "Nooooo…."

Dagbert glanced at him sympathetically. "There's always next week. Then you can give her as many detentions as you want."

Manfred brightened. "Oh yes…next week." He grinned maliciously, looking at the laughing group…

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Okay, so this is a really strange chapter. Tancred is probably a little out of character too. But ah well. Yes, Elle and Tancred, in my mind, would be like best friends, although Olivia would be one too. And 1. I made up that teacher. I don't remember the History guy's name… J

R&R!

~tubs.


	9. I Spy

Mhm. Well, first I'd like to apologize for taking so long to get this up. I've been busy looking for books and stuff. And I've also had a major writer's block {yes, I know I'm not very far so why should I have them? I don't know..}. So, I'm sorry… Ahem, well this chapter I promised someone that it would be at least 2000 words, another reason for that cursed block, but since Elle should be meeting the whole gang now, I think I can manage that! It's only like, 300 more than my longest one. No big deal. (*mentally thinking I'm screwed..*) Oh well, I suppose I should get a move on if I'm gonna finish!

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"You know you have incredible luck?" Lysander said looking at her.

"Eh?"

"Elle, you've been walking backwards, without turning around once, this whole time and between every other class we've had, and yet you haven't one bumped into, ran over, stumbled upon, or been hit, bruised, or ran into by anyone. It's _impossibly_ good luck."

"Meh, not really." Elle answered with a wink. "I've practiced a lot." She looked at him and then looked up with a fake thoughtful face. "Or maybe it's just that everyone else who would do this has incredibly bad luck, or just luck worse than me. Or maybe they're just avoiding me. As a great owl once said, 'the world may never know.'"

Tancred looked up with an amused smile. "That's from a commercial. It's for _Tootsie Rolls_. The owl is fake."

She gasped. "Don't ruin my dreams Tancred! The owl is wise and holy! And owls can talk you know."

Tancred sighed. "Why weren't you put in drama?" He asked.

"Haven't you asked that before? Like ten minutes ago?" Elle said accusingly. He just shrugged. "I picked art. Drama seems like to much work. Art kids just sit all day, and lazy people are _fun_….sometimes." She added, looking at the two in front of her, or was it behind? Oh well.

"Whatever you say ma'am." Lysander said with a grin.

"Yes, it is what I say. Hey, Tancred?"

"Yes?"

"Is it break time yet?"

Lysander sighed. "You didn't bother memorizing your schedule, did you?"

Elle laughed, then snorted. "Nuh-uh. Too much work. Didn't feel like it." She batted her eyelashes at him but the African boy just looked at her accusingly. "Although, I might feel like it now." She grudgingly added with a sigh. Pulling out her schedule, which already had covered with random doodles of random things so that it was impossible to read, Elle tried to see what class was next. After a few moments of staring blankly at it, Elle looked up. Nervously, she asked, "Heeeyy, Tancred buddy. Can I see your schedule?"

Tancred gave her a suspicious glance. "Why? Don't you have one?"

"Because sharing is caring?" Elle said just a little too sweetly.

Lysander gave a low grumble. "Uh-huh. That's why you shared your sculpting knife?"

Elle looked at him defensively. Folding her arms, she retorted, "Well, that's different. I needed it. My dinosaur was calling out to me. I had to make it!" (1)

Lysander was about to argue, prepared to say it looked like a walrus, since it did, but Tancred sighed and said "Yes." The two students looked at him confused. "Well, you asked. Break. That's our next 'class', I guess you could call it. Now we get outside."

Elle looked confused again. "You get to go outside? No way! That's crazy."

Tancred sighed. "Yes, you can go outside. But," he said, making his voice sound slow, like a person talking to a 5 year old, "if you don't put your stuff down, you won't get to meet all the other children. Okay?"

Elle gave him a pointed look then answered sarcastically. "Yes daddy dear. Anything you say."

Lysander laughed at his friend's pout expression. The other boy huffed and walked into the coatroom. The three all hung their capes and put down their quite heavy packs. Then the storm-bringer led them all outside.

It was a nice sunny day at Bloor's Academy. Outside the sun was shining brilliant rays of light and heat. There was a slight breeze teasing the bright green strands of grass. Trees, which were surprisingly healthy (A/N: you thought they'd all be dead and stuff huh..? ;P), were placed all over the place. It almost looked perfect, but a sad gray building had to protrude from the ground and stab the picture of perfection. The said building was unfortunately placed directly in the center of the glorious field. The group walked over to a large tree, which Tancred explained was "the spot of ultimate greatness" or at least that's what Elle heard. As the two boys settled down, Elle tiptoed and looked over the crowds of children.

"Who're you looking for?" Lysander asked.

"OLS!" Elle yelled, ignoring him. Running into the hoard of children, she grabbed a body and dragged it to the tree.

"ELLS!" The tiger stripped girl shouted. They then completed a handshake.

"Up high!" "Down low!" "Right hand out!" "There we go!" came the shouts of the two children.

Tancred and Lysander just looked at them confused and slightly weirded out. Lysander coughed and said "laaame" under his breathe. Tancred chuckled quietly.

Elle laughed with Olivia, ignoring his comment, and said "Oh. Right. Ols, these are my two newest friends-"

"Tancred and Lysander." Olivia said.

Elle gave an exaggerated gasp. "How did you know?" Then she paused and stared at Olivia with wide eyes, like she had discovered something. "Oh my fuzzy socks, Olivia! You're physic!"

The actor giggled. "Nope. I know them already. Though," she said, striking a 'thoughtful' pose, "I wonder why you weren't put into drama. You would do better."

Elle smiled and shrugged. The two boys nodded in agreement. "We asked." Lysander shrugged.

"Mhm, sure you did. Give me a minute, I'll be right back."

And a minute she was given. After exactly 65 seconds, Elle counting in her head, Olivia returned with a group of other people.

Elle whined and pouted. "O-liv-ee-aaaah! You said a minute! It's been 65 seconds!" She threw her hand on her forehead, making the two boys behind her roll their eyes. "That's five long seconds late."

The said girl shrugged and waved it off. "You'll live. And I'm being _fashionably_ late. But anyway, I want you to meet someone- or a couple someones."

Elle acknowledged the crowd behind her friend. Two of them she could recognize, Billy and Emma, who she waved enthusiastically at. Their responses were half-hearted. There were three others that she didn't know though. One was medium height, though he was very lanky so he appeared taller, and very scrawny. He had a long pale face and droopy eyes that matched his floppy brown hair. (A/N: Has a certain someone written all over it…I wonder who? *sarcasm*) Another one was medium height with the thickest bush of hair Elle had ever seen. It was pitch black and stuck out at odd angles. He also had brown eyes. The last one was the tallest and looked pretty normal. He had a chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes. He carried a small violin case in his hand.

"Elle, meet Gabriel,-" she pointed at the droopy boy"-Charlie,-" the boy with the big black bush on his head- ", and Fidelio." the boy with the violin.

"Hello Gabriel and Charlie and Fidelio. Nice to meet you." Elle announced.

Gabriel and Charlie just answered with a small "hello", but Fidelio actually spoke. "Likewise. How's your first day been so far?"

"It was cool, actually kind of fun, but," She looked behind her quickly and then looked back to winked at him. Leaning to Fidelio's ear, she whispered, or tried since everyone heard it, "I think I drove Lysander nuts. Perhaps Tancred too, poor little fellers."

Lysander rolled his eyes. "Psh. You got that right. Although I'd say it's more like crazy is you ask me." he declared.

Elle shrugged. "Okay, crazy. That's better than what I've heard before." Tancred and Lysander gasped, both thinking _It get's worse_? The others laughed. "Anywho, it was fun. And no, you can't deny it." She added to a protesting Tancred.

The boy stuck out his tongue in defense and they laughed again. Charlie spoke first. "So is art hard?"

Elle tilted her head. "Well, I picked it, so why would it be hard?"

Charlie shrugged and said, "Well, I didn't know if you picked it or if they just put you in a random one for being endowed. They did that to me. Well actually my dad was in it, but I can't play trumpet, or anything that music comes from, for..well yeah. " Then he shrugged.

Elle smiled. "Well that sucks. I got to pick. It's not that bad, I think. Actually I rather like art, no matter how bad I am at it. But speaking of endowed kiddies, you are right?"

Charlie nodded. "I can, err.. Hear painting and stuff."

She raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. Elle laid back on the grass, between Lysander and Olivia (She, Liv, sat next to him..) and yawned. "So what do you guys do during this 30 minutes of my life that could be used for better things?"

Tancred looked over at her. "Your bored already? And here I thought you were the one who wanted to get outside oh so badly."

Elle shrugged and Charlie said, "Well, normally..there isn't really a normally thing. I just do whatever."

There was a small silence. But then it broke. The girl sat up. "Whatever? As in you can do _whatever_ you want?"

Emma, for the first time, spoke. "Yeah. Pretty much as long as it's legal."

Elle laughed. "Don't worry, it's as legal as legal gets."

Gabriel looked up curiously. "That's awfully legal. What is it?"

Elle grinned. "Who's up for I Spy?"

Tancred and Lysander were the only ones who didn't laugh. Because they knew she was serious. The rest chuckled merrily. Billy stopped first. "I Spy? Yeah right, what did you really mean?"

The girl looked at him offended. "Well, I'm sorry is there something wrong with I Spy? I think it's perfectly fine. And 100% normal. What about you? Hmmm?"

Billy colored. "Erm, well, uh, well," He stammered. "um..I Spy it is!" He finished weakly.

Elle cracked back into her grin. "Great!" Then she flounced up dramatically and pointed her finger at Bloor's. "I spy something big and gray!"

A dead silence rang through, everyone giving the girl a blank stare. Fidelio was the first one to break it, nervously stating "Um, Elle, I don't think you're supposed to point at it."

"Oh. Right." Cough.

* * *

"Hey, Tanc?"

"Yes Sander?"

"Do you remember that one time where -"

"Gah! You're never going to forget that are you?" She interrupted, the question more of a statement than anything.

Lysander and Tancred both winked. "**Never**."

Elle gave an exasperated, and slightly over exaggerated, sigh. "Fine. Whatever. I bet _plenty_ of people point at the stuff they see in I spy. You're just jealous that you didn't do it."

Tancred shook his head, smiling slightly. "No, actually, I'm not. And I'd bet that Sander isn't either, since no one does that."

She huffed. Then changed the subject. "Well, dinner's not half bad. What's next? Oh wait, I got this one." She put a finger on her chin, thinking. "It's..homework in the King's, no?"

Lysander gasped. "Oh my, Tancred do you hear that?"

Tancred looked as stricken. "Why yes Sander, I do! Could it be?"

The taller boy nodded. "It..it must be! But, is it _possible_?"

Elle sighed. "What is it." She stated, since it was obviously going to be answered.

There were two replies. One was: "She actually memorized her schedule!" The other: "She actually got something right!" (A/N: I'll let you chose who said what. ;D ) Then there was a pause. Elle tried her best to hide an amused smile, but failed. It went unnoticed by the boys though, as Lysander looked at his best friend. "Wait, we weren't on the same page here?"

Tancred shrugged, looking a little bit confused. "I suppose not. Although, I guess we're both right."

Lysander nodded in agreement, making the girl huff, again. "I think I've just been insulted. Twice."

Both answered again, although this time they were thinking the same. "Yes, you were."

"Yeah, whatever guys. So where is this place?"

"Follow me!" Lysander took the lead. Elle attempted to pay attention, so she could know the way to it, but gave up after she couldn't remember if it was a left or right at the big window. After walking for a little bit, or marching in Elle's case, they arrived at the room. Unconsciously, all three grinned as they remembered yesterday's event. As they walked in, Elle remembered that Emma had said to remember the endowed, so she looked around the room. There was fat Dorcas, stringy haired Dagbert, scary doll twins Ideth and Inez, and Joshua who had things sticking to his head. All of them were on the left of the table. Charlie, Gabriel, Billy, Emma, were seated on the right. Manfred acted as a human divider, settled snuggly in the middle. There were 3 open spots on the right and an empty space of 2 on the left, but no one wanted to sit on any side of the twins. Instead, Elle looked at the right seats. Two were placed next to each other in between Gabriel and Charlie and one next to Billy and Emma. Emma waved Elle over, trying to be subtle. Elle smiled and walked over to the spot as Lysander half dragged Tancred over to the spots settled beside Charlie. After that small distraction of hearing feet shuffle, bags being placed down, books being placed out, papers ruffling, pencils rolling, and inaudible grumbling, the room returned to utter silence.

* * *

"Hey, Ems?"

The small blonde girl looked up. "Yes?"

"Is homework always that _excruciatingly_ boring?"

Elle was now walking back to the girls dorms with Emma, which meant she had left the storm-bringer and the ancestor-bringer, a title she had deemed Lysander after learning what his, and every other endower's, power was. Tancred's was still the best endowment. The way through the dorms was barely lit since the candles were burning out and outside it was already dark.

"I suppose so, although certain times are a little bit more fun." She replied.

"Mmm..I see." The brunette said. "That sucks."

Emma giggled. "Yeah."

The pair entered the third dorm room on the left side and walked to their separate beds. After a minute or so, Elle wondered out loud. "Where's Ols?"

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Yep. I made it. I think I cheated a little bit since I added the intro thingy, but oh well. It's 2849 words long. Oh yeah. I. Made. It. :D Anywho, This chapter is really weird; I'm not particularly fond of it. Oh well.

1. Sculpting was their previous class. :P

Haha, the funniest thing happened when I wrote the names. It told me Ideth waqs supposed to be 'Diet'. Ahaha...alright it wasn't that funny. Whatever.

Buh-bye!

R&R!

~tubs.


	10. Of Pillows, Bushes, And Floating Stuff

I have to say, I liked the challenge of writing my 2000+ word chapter last time. So! I have challenged myself to a new challenge. Ahem. My challenge to me: Write every chapter with at least 2000 words or else. The or else? I decided that my punishment is that I have to write a one-shot based on something. Since I'm not all to creative, I let myself slide and said that it does not have to a CotRK fic, rather it can be about anything, as long as it is 2000 words or more. Anywho, I'm here to present to you the next chapter of, well, Untitled. Still can't think of a name and the ones that have been suggested don't feel right, though I'd like to thank those who gave me one. :D Ahem, well, here we go….

**Disclaimer: If you haven't figured out that I am ****NOT**** the owner of the wonderful Children of the Red King series, I'd advise you get your IQ, common sense, and mental health checked…or just go read the other chapters. I'll say this again, it all belongs to Mrs. Nimmo…except for Elle of course.**

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Elle was an early riser, so she always had time to think about things before Emma or Olivia woke up. This morning, Elle thought about the snippets of information that she had either stumbled upon by accident or had been told by her small group of friends. Some of it was somewhat alarming, some not so much.

The interesting information was mostly revolved around what the Bloor's had put her friends through: everything about Billy's so-called 'nice, adoptive parents' and Emma's hypnotism had intrigued her a lot. She heard small bits and pieces about Asa Pike, too, which also went near the most appealing stories that she'd heard from the group. Lastly, the ever-growing battle between the Red King's descendants, whom she had also gained some knowledge about, was a matter she was deeply drawn into.

She had thought about the last topic the most, seeing as it was a still-raging war. To the group's relief, none of the 'bad guys' had made any moves to make use of her on their side. As usual, they teased her and everyone else, but they seemed to pretty much keep their distance as much as they could. Their ignorance of her made some people, mainly Lysander and Tancred who she spent most of her time with, suspicious of their enemies' actions. The more she thought about it, Elle found it odd, seeing as they went through great lengths to persuade most everyone else endowed to join them. But the girl tried to brush it off. She _did_ make it pretty obvious that she was opposing them right?

She had thought of other possibilities for them to leave her alone, of course. The most logical one out of her 23 (There were so many since some were quite ridiculous, even though Elle would never admit it) was about her power. For the month that Elle had been at Bloor's, she had gotten a detention twice already, but she hadn't used her power even once, nor had she given any signs of what exact forms of elements she could control or how she controlled anything. She supposed that they might not want to recruit someone who's endowment remained close to secret, since they only knew she controlled elements and that was all.

_Meh, why am I thinking so pessimistically? _She thought, mentally giving herself a slap. _Just be happy that they haven't come after you, you paranoid dolt. Think on the sunny side! Which reminds me, is it going to be sunny or what? Britain's (1) so unpredictable. I wonder why. Stupid weather people. Oh wait, that's insulting Tancie, oops. But he can't hear me in my head, so it's cool right? I think so, but what do I know? Oh shoot! We got a English test! Stupid, stupid, stupid….Gah! I gotta cram-_

"Elle, dear, I don't think it's healthy to be doing that. You might lose too many brain cells," came a voice to her side.

The said girl stopped her hand from hitting her forehead again to look at her currently black haired friend. "You're up already?"

Olivia winked. "Well, it isn't the easiest thing in the world to sleep with someone hitting their pretty little face now is it? It's quite loud."

Elle pretended to think. "Well I suppose not, but how should I know? My cruel hand is hitting me!" She said in mock distress.

Her friend gasped in faked horror. "Oh no That evil, evil hand!"

There was a short pause before the two promptly began laughing outrageously. Elle clutched her stomach as she rolled on the not-so comfortable bed. Grumbles followed, and rustling of sheets and pillows being pulled over their owners' heads. A loud 'shut up' made the two calm down. Wiping a tear of laughter from her eye, Olivia was the first to get up. "Well, I think we succeeded in waking every girl in this dorm."

A loud groan sounded, affirming Olivia's statement. Elle nodded in agreement. "Yes, I believe so," and ducked as an anonymous pillow flew over her head. "That's going to be the.." she mentally counted the events in her head, "the twelfth time since I arrived."

Her friend sighed. "Ah, yes. And what a wonderful gift that had came when you stepped foot on this campus." Both girls shared grins. "Ahem. Weeellll, shall I do the honors?"

Elle sighed. "If you must."

The actor flashed a brilliant smile. "Cool." She raised her voice higher and louder, until she was shouting shrilly. "Rise and shine ladies!"

Again both girls laughed as pillows were thrown into her direction, each one avoided by some means. Stifling a yawn, Elle rose from her mattress and strode into the bathroom to get ready.

* * *

"Good morning Tancie! Good morning Sandie!" (2)

Two identical groans came from in front of her. A grin was her reaction. "Yes, I missed you too."

Lysander looked up first. "Mmm, _sure_. Morning." Tancred just grunted in reply, since, like usual, he wasn't fully awake.

Elle tutted. "You guys suck mornings, I hope you know that."

Tancred waved her off. "Meh, you'll live."

"Hmm," she frowned. "I think I spend too much time with you guys. I'm starting to rub off a smidgen too much."

Lysander gave her a flat stare, one that could be interpreted as 'no duh'. She smiled back. "A little more can't hurt."

* * *

"Maybe it can." She muttered under her breath. "Tancred Timothy Torsson (3). Give me back my brush right now."

At the mention of his middle name, the boy cringed, not noticing the amusement in his best friend's poorly concealed snicker. Nevertheless, he stuck out his tongue and began painting his tree statue. "Tancred, I'll ask again. Give. Me. My. Brush. Or else."

He pondered it for a moment, making a show of saying a ton of random "hmm" and "weell" 's. "I think not." He finally said, a smirk smeared on his face.

Elle scowled, then sighed. "Yes, yes, I see that I was right."

He looked at her with confusion and curiosity. "About what?"

The girl looked at the African boy sadly. "Poor Lysander, now he has to put up with two me's."

Tancred dropped the brush, which Elle caught abruptly and began using it on her whale thing. She looked back at his shocked face and smiled faintly. With a nonchalant tone, she retorted "Just kidding."

Lysander laughed. Tancred just glared at both of them.

"Why is your whale green?" Lysander asked suddenly, causing Tancred to snicker.

This time Elle glared at the two boys. "It's not a whale. It's a bush."

* * *

"Hey Els?"

"Yes Ols?"

"Do you think…ah never mind."

They, the whole group, were sitting under the shady tree where the I Spy incident had occurred. Luckily, everyone seemed to forget about it or had gotten tired of teasing her every couple days, since Elle hadn't heard any comments about it for a while. The girl had crossed her fingers in hope that her luck lasted. So far so good.

She sighed. "Ols, what do you want?" she questioned, blunt but not unkind.

Her friend gave a nervous smile. "Well, you see, I was in acting class today when my mind decided to drift and think about a certain silver-blue eyed girl I know. Then my brain began talking to me and," she coughed faintly. Her words got rushed after this. "Well, you see, it was like 'Hey Liv' and I was like 'Hey brain' and it was like 'You know how Elle is endowed?' and I was like 'Dear brain how could I forget!' and then it was all 'just making sure' and I was like-"

Charlie gave a small sigh. "Can you get on with it please?" This got a few unconsciously used nods.

Olivia huffed. "Fine. Anyways, I was wondering if you could," she cleared her throat. "if you could, if you could, well, showusyourendowmentplease?"

Everyone looked at her confused. "Huh?" Billy said.

She cleared her throat again. "I asked if you could show us you endowment."

A few people oh'ed and nodded in agreement, looking at Elle. The girl just blinked. "That's it?"

Olivia looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

Elle smiled. "Well, I mean, you said it like it was a real big deal or something. If you wanted to see it you could have just asked. Actually, I'm surprised you didn't ask sooner."

The actor's mouth formed an O. Emma butted in. "You don't care?"

Elle shrugged. "Not really. Should I?"

Tancred and Lysander both rose their hands. "I do."

Elle looked at them, bewildered. "You care about my endowment?"

When the two looked at her confused, Fidelio spoke up. "I think they care about their's, not yours."

Elle nodded. "That makes sense." Then she turned to Olivia. "So what exactly should I do?"

Olivia shrugged. This time Gabriel spoke. "You do element stuff, am I right?" The girl nodded. "So, can you make fire appear out of nowhere or something?"

Elle bit her lip. "Well, no, technically. I can't make fire appear out of _nowhere_, it has to come from somewhere." At the silent request of confused faces, she continued. "See, to make something appear I have to draw power out from it's natural forces, or basically the things that make it up. Fire is pretty much heat and light, right? So if I wanted to have fire I'd have to.." She trailed off. "Okay, never mind. You don't really have to know that stuff," she said, noticing the many even more confused faces. Sighs of relief came. "Anywho, most of the time I can. Some places it's harder; other places I can't. That's pretty much it."

Tancred grinned. "Show us," he stated.

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Well, what's to show?"

Lysander answered. "Make a water ball or something."

Elle grinned. "My favorite." A moment of concentration flickered over her face, but then it left. "Tada." she sighed almost dreamily.

In her hand-no, it was above it- hovered a small blueish orb. It was no bigger than a baseball and was perfectly round. As she moved, the walls flickered, like water sloshing inside. "Whoa," Charlie muttered in awe.

Elle blushed suddenly. "It's nothing," she shrugged, quickly letting it fall and hit the grass.

Tancred and Lysander shared similar looks. Each thought the same thing: _What was up with that? _Unknown to them, Emma and Olivia did the exact same thing.

Just as Billy was about to say something, the break bell rung, signaling the end. Elle jumped up and cleared her throat. "Yeah, well, gotta catch class. See you guys later!" Then she rushed off.

Then the four knew something was going on. Elle always waited for the two boys. _Always._

_That was kind of weird. _Tancred thought_._

_Yes, yes it was. _A faint voice said back. _You gonna find out why?_

Tancred thought for a moment. _I hope so George. I hope so._

_Bleh. You better._

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Woohoo…I'm pretty sure I made it. Yes, I included the intro, but oh well.

1. The setting is in Britain right? I don't remember. I thin it was, but I don't have a book handy, so oh well. If it's wrong feel free to correct me.

2. I think you can tell who's who. If you can't then Tancie (pronounced: Tanc-ee) is Tancred and Sandie (pronounced: San-dee) is Lysander.

3. Do I know Tancred's middle name? No. Not at all. Do I wish I did? Yes, yes I do. But for that to work I needed a middle name so I used Timothy for two reasons. One: I'm currently listening to Rise Against while I write this and one of the and members is named Timothy. Two: I thought it would be funny if Tancred's initials spelled TTT. :D

Yep, that's it. Sorry if you call that a cliffhanger, but…sorry. So tune in next time to see what happens next! Will Tancred find out what's up with Elle? What is up with Elle anyways? When's she getting with Tanc? Elle's parents? WHAT? ß--my idea of a preview..

R&R!

~tubs.

Word count: 2215 (including intro and end)


	11. 5 Reasons Why

Welcome back, reader! I know I'm updating a bit fast, sorry, but I {still} feel bad about taking forever on updating that one chapter. But then again, if you are a reader who likes my story, you wouldn't really mind if I wrote faster, would you?...Whatever, I'm talking to myself. Just remember that **I do ****NOT**** own any part of the Children of the Red King series. I own Elle, George (I suppose) and other people I just might add. **Hint hint. Alrighty, here we go to the next chapter of…man, I really need a name. I'm thinking I swear! :T

By the way, I should clear this up. _If it is like this, someone is thinking. _**Bold wording means it's either the disclaimer or it's being stressed. **Underlined words mean it's being written. You should be able to tell the difference. Roger?

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"Idiot, idiot, idiot…" She muttered to herself softly.

So far, Elle had gone through the whole day, or at least since first break, without talking to any of her friends. And that was bad._ Ugh, why did I just run off like that? You stupid idiot. They wanted to see it you know. It's not like they were going to make fun of you. They're your __**friends. **__They should understand- no they would understand. This isn't your old school. None of those mean kids are going to push you around anymore. You stupid idiot. Now they probably think I'm avoiding them! Well, that's not exactly far from the truth but…I don't mean too! Crap. _Elle thought abruptly, noticing what time it was. _Crap, crap, crap. I should have paid more attention when Sandie brought me there. I knew I should've but __**nooo**__… now I'm lost. How am I supposed to get to that stupid room now?!_

"Dolt, dolt, dolt…" She trailed off, looking for a way to the King's room.

* * *

"Hey Sander," the young storm-bringer said as they walked to the King's room.

Sigh. "Tanc, I know you're worried about Elle, heck, I am too, but would you please stop asking me about her every ten seconds? And I'm not asking."

Tancred crossed his arms in protest. "I am not worried about her." Lysander sent him a look. The boy looked away, a faint pink written across his pale face. "Okay, maybe just a little. But I'm not asking that much."

The other boy rolled his eyes. "Believe whatever you want, buddy, but I know you are." Then he grinned and winked mischievously. "I wonder why, hmmm?"

Tancred sniffed. "I will, thank you. And she's our friend, duh." He stared at his feet so his blond hair covered his blush. His friend just rolled his eyes, shooting him a uh-huh-sure look. "Hey Sander?"

The said boy gave another exasperated sigh, knowing what the blond was going to say. "Yes Tanc?"

"Do you think she's alright? She might be lost you know, she never did know the way up, and you know-"

"Tancred, please. Just shut up."

* * *

"So do I turn right, or left?" Elle wondered out loud, not caring if anyone heard her. She looked over her surroundings, checking for hints. "Hmm, let's see. I passed that one statue that I tripped over, and the flagpole that hit Lysander…" she trailed off. _Aw great. Now I'm feel all terrible and guilty. That's not cool, not cool at all. I really should apologize for running off like that. I bet they're mad at me. Especially Tancred. _She winced. _I hope not, mad Tancie's are not fun at all. Wait, I can't think about that right now. I have to get to that room before Manfred murders me for being late again_. She checked her watch, the one she started wearing after Olivia's insistence, and cursed. _It's already seven twenty; I'm twenty minutes late. Manfred is going to chew me out so bad. Liv was right, I do have to keep better track of time. Sander is too, I guess. He'd yell at me for my lack of direction senses. _

She scowled, scolding herself. "Stop thinking about them you dolt, you'll just feel worse. I really have to find my way around this stupid building." She frowned and decided to take a left.

* * *

Tancred tapped his pen on his desk rapidly. Lysander sighed. _That's just splendid, now my best friend is mad. How fun._ He mentally groaned. _I hate a mad Tancred._

The room was pretty much silent, save for the frequent sounds of paper turning and cloth rustling. Oh, and the annoying tap, tap, tap from a certain boy with gravity defying blonde hair. The said boy groaned silently, not noticing the faint wind that always surrounded him strengthen a notch.

_Pft, what am I worried about. I should be __**mad**__. She totally blew us off._

_Oh really? That's not how I remember it. _An annoying voice questioned in his mind.

Tancred scowled. _What do you want George?_

He tutted, if a conscious could do that. _I thought I told you to find out what was wrong with her, not get mad at her._

_So? I don't have to listen to my conscious. Like I said, she totally blew us off. We asked if we could see her endowment and she said she didn't care. But nooo, after she showed us, she just ups and walks away without so much as an explanation to why she just ran off. And then she goes and ignores us the whole day. _

George sighed. _Okay fine. Think whatever you like. But let me tell you two things okay? _Tancred was going to protest, but the conscious cut him off. _No, listen. One: No, you don't actually need to listen to your conscious. If you want, you don't have to. It's not a wise choice though. I'd advise you to, since I am giving you information you might be able to put to use. I can almost swear we've gone through this before. Anyway, two: Maybe you should find out why she just 'up and left' like you put it. You never know, she may have had a good reason for it. Endowments can be touchy things. You can't deny it either. She may have said she didn't care, but maybe something happened that hit a spot that it shouldn't have._

Tancred was silent for a while, not answering George. He scowled again. _I need to talk to Sander._

_Be my guest. I told you, I rather like him._

Looking around hastily, Tancred checked to make sure no one was looking at him. Seeing no one, he tore a piece of paper out of his notebook and wrote. Sander, is it okay if I'm mad at Elle? he scribbled that out. It sounded stupid. He tapped his pen to his chin for a few moments, not knowing what to write, and thought. Then a light bulb clicked and he began writing. Tancred looked it over. _Good, not too obvious. No names. _Then he passed it to his friend.

Meanwhile, Lysander had just finished his work and was just about to stretch his arms when an unknown force touched it. He looked over at it, seeing a white paper. He picked it up, looked at the only person who could have given it too him. Tancred just looked at his homework, head bent over it. Lysander shrugged to himself and read it. Alright, so let's pretend I know a guy who knows this guy who knows this girl. And these people are all endowed. Then they all become friends right? But then one of these guys asks if he could see her talent and she's all like 'I don't care.' Then she shows them, but the one of these guys goes 'whoa' and then she just goes 'errr' and up and leaves. They get worried about her but the girl won't talk to these guys. Is it okay for one of these guys to be mad at her? The boy shook with silent laughter as he read it. _Seriously, Tancred? Really? Can you make it any more obvious? Oh well, might as well play along._

Well, it depends. He wrote. Did the girl say anything offending about her friend's talents before she left?

No. came his reply. But the guys were obviously worried and she just ignored them. She completely ignored them!

Lysander sighed. Well, then it's not really-

"Sage! Torsson!" a gruff voice barked.

Both boys looked up sharply, so sharply it hurt Lysander's neck. He hurriedly pushed the paper under a book, ignoring the pain in his throat. "Yes Manfred?"

The hypnotizer looked at Lysander. "Sage. Where's your little friend, Elle?" he sneered, scowling on the last part.

Tancred blinked. He obviously, hadn't noticed that she hadn't entered the room yet. _Do you think she's alright? Wait, I'm mad at her, I don't care._

_You know, for being mad you sure don't look it. You'd normally be fuming by now, and then everything would be all messed up. _A voice said.

Lysander on the other hand, had noted this before hand. "I don't know sir. I'd be willing to bet that she got lost."

The black haired man scowled, yet again, and said "Well, I don't care what you'd bet. You!" He pointed at Tancred. "Go with Sage to find her. Come back soon."

Both boys mentally sighed. Lysander's from relief, because he really wanted to get out of the room. Tancred's agitated, since he didn't really feel like talking to her without being sure if he was mad at her. He did have a slightly stronger wind, he noted, but it wasn't bad. "Yes sir," the blonde mumbled grudgingly, trudging out the door behind his friend. Once the door closed, both boys sighed out loud. "So is it okay?" He asked.

Lysander made a face. "Tancred, walk with me."

* * *

"Dammit, it's almost eight!" Elle groaned.

Sure enough, it was about 7:45. The girl almost thought about skipping the whole King's room thing after it had hit 7:30, but had thought against it. After arguing about it with herself for she didn't know how long, Elle had caved in and decided that she should apologize to her friends, or at least Emma, Tancred ,Lysander, and Olivia, since she was sure they had noticed her behavior. She figured she'd be able to find the majority of them at the room.

* * *

"Tanc, look. I know that you are mad at her-"

"I am? I'm not really sure about that."

Lysander gave his friend a look. "Uh, you said that in your note. No offence, but you seriously have to work on your subtly."

Tancred gave him a lopsided smile. "Sorry, but anywho, I talked with George and he said I didn't have my normal symptoms of being mad. I'm not going weather crazy and I'm not not talking to anyone. But I still **feel** mad at her."

His friend nodded. He was used to 'George' the conscious comments by now, and he usually agreed with him. This wasn't an exception. "Well, George is right. So then we figured out three things." When Tancred gave him an expectant look, Lysander continued. "Well, we figured out that George is right, yet again. You know, I rather like that conscious of your's."

Tancred snorted. "You have no idea how may times he's said that about you."

Lysander cracked a grin. "Tell him what I said. Anyways, I've also taken the liberty to say that you spent way to much time with Elle now. You said anywho." He winked and laughed as Tancred scowled. "And last…"

* * *

Elle scowled for the probably tenth or so time. _Why are people so hard to come by in this place? It's a school. _

In all actuality, Elle had pretty much given up looking for the King's room. She had ended up in 3 wrong classrooms already and was tired of coming up with excuses why she was out. Especially since the only ones she had come up with seemed so ridiculous the teachers gave her blank stares that were oddly uncomfortable. So now the girl was just waiting in a hallway, hoping that someone would find her, happen to be endowed, and take her to the room. So far, no luck.

Just as she was about to scowl again, Elle heard a voice. An oddly familiar voice to. "But I still **feel **mad at her."

_I knew it! Tancie is mad at me_. She thought sadly.

"Well, George is right. So then we figured out three things. Well, we figured out that George is right, yet again. You know, I rather like that conscious of your's." _George again? Tancred talks to his conscious a lot._

Tancred snorted. "You have no idea how may times he's said that about you."

Lysander spoke again. "Tell him what I said. Anyways, I've also taken the liberty to say that you spent way to much time with Elle now. You said anywho." Elle heard him laugh and had to suppress one as she heard Tancred scowl. "And last we found out that you're not mad at her, but you feel a mad sensation." Tancred snorted again.

Elle's ears perked up. _He's not mad? That's weird. Crud, I want to hear this, but they're coming this way! Um…_She hid behind a random table right before they turned to the hall.

"Yeah, okay. So I'm not mad. But then why do I feel all…mad-like?"

* * *

The boys turned into the hall. Tancred sighed. "Yeah, okay. So I'm not mad. But then why do I feel all…mad-like?"

"I don't know." Lysander shrugged. "Maybe…never mind." He said, avoiding his friend's gaze.

Tancred frowned and stopped in front of a table. "Maybe what?" He pressed, needing an answer.

"Erm, maybe…You're going to think it's ridiculous." The African summoner mumbled.

Tancred sighed, yet again. He really had to stop doing that. "What is it?" He said more forcefully, leaning his elbows on the table.

"Well, you see….Ithinkyoulikeherandyoujustfeelalittleprotectivesoyouractingallstrangeyouknow?"

Tancred sputtered.

* * *

Elle froze. Lysander said it pretty fast, but she was able to catch what he said. _Oh..my..god_. She thought, paling. _How on the marvelous planet of Earth had Lysander figured out that…wait. He think __**HE**__ likes __**ME**__? That's impossible._

Tancred sputtered above her, and she noticed he had leaned against the table. "You what?"

* * *

Lysander looked at him guiltily. "I think you like her, so you're feeling a teensie bit protective cause she won't tell you what's wrong and, well, basically you like her."

Tancred paled fast but then colored. He laughed nervously. "Sander, that's… err... um… that's... ri-ridiculus! Ahahahaha.." He finished weakly.

Lysander raised an eyebrow. "Is it now?" He sighed. "Look, Tancred, I've known you long enough to know that you only stutter when you're nervous or hiding something." Tancred's face got even brighter, if that were possible. "And I have also known you long enough to know when you fancy someone."

Tancred's face was cherry red. He stammered incoherently for a few moments before looking away defiantly. "Oh really? Prove it. How do you know I like Elle?"

Lysander fought the urge to smirk. "Okay." He help up five fingers. "One, you were using your I-am-definitely-hiding-something voice before, after I said you liked her." He docked of one. "Two, You stare at her sometimes, I don't know if you noticed." Another finger down. "Three, you told me yourself that she's pretty. You never tell me that unless you like the girl."

Tancred gulped. "Oh…oh really? And who ha-have I said that bit about?"

This time Sander did smirk. "That one girl Hannah in third grade, Sarah in fifth, Tracy last semester," He sneered her name, remembering the mean girl. "and last, Elle about a week ago." He chuckled at Tancred's face. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, Ahem. Four, you blushed when I said it. And last," Lysander almost laughed. "Last, you said 'how do you know I like Elle?' Dead giveaway."

Tancred groaned. "Crap."

* * *

Elle's face went bright red after number two, but after four, she brightened considerably. "..last, you said 'how do you know I like Elle?' Dead giveaway."

She heard a groan and Tancred said something. But she wasn't really listening anymore. _Holy cripeys, no way. That's impossible. I mean, Tancred can't like me! I mean, he's cute, and sweet and nice in a strange yet twisted way and… ugh. I know I like him already, don't remind me brain! But…GAH! I hate crushes!_

Then she accidentally kicked out and hit his leg. They both froze.

_Ah, come up with an excuse! Um…I was asleep! Of course! _She quickly closed her eyes and tried her best to look relaxed.

"So I'm right?" Lysander asked with a grin.

Tancred just groaned again and leaned farther back on the table. "I can't hide anything from you can I?"

The boy grinned back at him. "Nope."

He sighed and was about to say something when something kicked him. He froze for a moment and then whipped around, cape flying. "Tanc, what's-" Lysander was saying, but then the storm-bringer ducked. There could only be one person out right now.

Then he sighed again, but relieved. "Thank any god there is." he muttered.

"Tancred what's up?"

* * *

Elle desperately tried her best to pretend she was sleeping. She heard a swoosh and then Tancred was in front of her. "Thank any god there is."

Lysander spoke up. "Tancred what's up?" he said, and the girl heard him move toward the table.

There was a barely audible gulp and then Tancred spoke again. "Elle's right here, but I think she's asleep."

Lysander laughed. "Aw man, you better hope she is. She might have just hear your confession."

"I didn't confess anything!" the storm-ringer snapped exasperated.

"Yeah, whatever." Lysander said, and Elle swore she heard amusement laced in his voice. "Well, wake her up, I guess, we gotta head back."

Elle felt a hand on her shoulder and it shook her. "Hey, Elle, wake up," Tancred said, talking louder.

The girl waited for a few shakes before she made a show of getting up. She raised her hand and rubbed at her eyes, then tried to get up. Unfortunately, she forgot about the table above her and hit her head. "Owww…" She muttered, rubbing it. Then she looked up at them and blinked a couple times. "Why are you two in the girls' dorm?"

Lysander rolled his eyes. "We're in the hall you dork. You fell asleep and we were sent to find you."

Tancred grinned. "Yep, so let's go back."

Elle looked at her watch. "Aww, I still have to go to homework." It was 7:50.

Tancred shrugged. "For like ten minutes. Probably less since you gotta walk there."

Elle smiled at him. "Ah well." Then she grabbed both boy's arms and walked out the hall. She was about to walk when she stopped and looked at them. _Well, might as well apologize now. _"Um…I'm sorry for ignoring you guys today. I…using my powers brought back memories of," she inwardly flinched, not wanting to tell them. "Of, things that aren't to pleasant. I'm not going into detail though, maybe later. Anywho. So yeah."

Lysander gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's cool, right Tanc?"

Tancred nodded, "Yeah."

The girl smiled again and grabbed their arms, failing to notice Tancred's blush. Lysander saw and winked at him. She stepped into another hallway and then stopped again. "Err…guys? Where do we go?"

Lysander laughed. Tancred just grinned. "Good to have you back." Elle frowned as he ruffled her hair.

"Shut up," she laughed after a moment.

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Oh my god…Oh my god…Oh my god…

Do you know how many words that was!? It was way more than 2000 words! Way more! Oh my…sigh. :) Well, whatever. Yes, there we go. That's my chapter. Cheesy? Yes. Predictable? I'd say so. But oh well. It's okay. So now you know that Tancie likes Elle and Els likes him back. Sigh.

Ahem, well, that's it. Bye!

R&R!

~tubs.

Word count: 3332(YEAH BABY!)


	12. Announcement!

**This is NOT a chapter, but I uploaded a few pictures of what I thought I thought Charlie and the gang look like. I drew Elle too. Unfortunately, my computers weird, so I didn't get to put up anyone else besides Billy, Fidelio, and Charlie, but I'm working on it! If you want to see the pictures, go see the link for my deviant art on my profile. Okay? Thank you for your time. :D**


	13. Happy Dances and Worries

Alright. For starters, I'd like to say thanks to those that looked at my pictures, and said they were good. I'm nearly done with Olivia (she has no color yet!), and then I have to upload Tanc, Sander, Gabriel (who's picture is my favorite), Emma, and Elle. I'm sketching the villains out, but none but Manfred are ready to be colored. :D Announcement number two: I'm planning a short Fidelio story. I don't know when it comes out, but I'm actually planning on naming this one, promise. ;) So anyways, This is the next chapter of my story, which is still currently untitled, and I hope you enjoy. On to the disclaimer. **No, Sadly, I don't own any of the CotRK series. No setting or character belongs to me so far besides Elle, and possibly, I think, George.**

_Blah- thinking or flashback or sounds_

**Blah- Disclaimer or stressed words **

Blah- writing

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Tancred stared at her, his piercing blue eyes boring holes into her eyes. "Octopus."

"Platypus."

"Quail."

Elle paused to think. "Rhino."

"Starfish."

"Tuh..Tuh…Turtle!"

Tancred scowled. "Um…Unicycle?"

"That's not an animal." (1)Elle smiled victoriously. She got up slowly, still looking at him and then promptly began dancing in circles, her fingers going up in the air. "Woohoo! Oh jea baby! I won! I WOOON!"

Lysander and his best friend sighed as the group laughed. Tancred looked at her again, then looked away shaking his head. "What kind of dance is that anyways? It looks stupid." The African snickered.

Elle stopped dancing and glared daggers into him. "I'll have you know it's called the Happy Dance, thank you very much." Then she paused a wicked grin coming to her face. Coughing to cover it up, Elle smiled and said "I bet you're just jealous that you can't dance it!" in a sing-song voice.

Tancred glanced up, fuming. "I can too!"

Elle covered her smile with a hand. "Can not."

"Can too!"

"Can not!"

"Can too!"

"Prove it!" The girl yelled, her disguise nearly shattering.

"Fine!" The blonde yelled back and then shot up, rising his index fingers. He waved them around, spinning in circles. After a few seconds, he reddened and plopped back down, realizing his mistake. His blush only deepened as he saw her rolling on the grass laughing. Lysander was next to him doubled over from amusement. Some people were nicer; Emma at least **tried** to hide her chuckling. "It's not funny." He muttered weakly, knowing it was a lie.

Elle took a deep breath to calm her self, then looked at him again. "Oh course it wasn't Tancie," she replied. "Of course it wasn't."

The storm-bringer just huffed and looked away.

"So, Emma," Elle declared, spinning to turn to the other blonde. "I need your help."

This time, the two eldest boys were the ones to hide grins behind fists. "Uh, sure, but for what?" Emma asked in her sweet voice.

"Well, you see," the other girl answered, blushing. She rubbed her neck and looked down. "We have this art project that's due soon, and err…" Elle looked at the two boys that were convulsing in silent giggles. "I can't sculpt stuff very well and I need you to help me make a model of a hippo."

"Why, Elle, I don't remember an art project." Lysander looked up innocently, shaking with racks of laughter as he said it.

The girl glared back. Emma nodded. "We're not in the same class, but usually teachers assign all students the same projects."

Elle scowled quietly. Olivia gasped quickly, realizing what happened. "NO! Elle, you didn't?" The said girl nodded glumly. "Elle, Elle, Elle, why?" She sighed out.

The rest of the group gaped, and some began laughing again. Though some people can be really dense. "What?" Charlie and Emma blurted out.

"Well, you see," Elle trailed off.

_{FLASHBACK}_

_Last class, 9:55 am_

"_Elemoret Newburt, what __**are**__ you doing!"_

_The girl flinched at the sound of her full name. She looked up, stopping her hand from hitting a certain blonde boy with the (dull!) sculpting knife. "Err, nothing Mr. Nickels, why do you ask?" She replied in a sweet voice._

"_Don't lie to me! Why are you hitting Mr. Torsson?"_

_The girl hid a scowl as she noticed pairs of eyes staring at her. "Well, you see, sir, Mr. Torsson was insulting my __**beautiful **__sculpture of a hippo and I just had to get back! So I cut off one of his spikes," She motioned to a clump of hair up her hippo's nose._

"_YOU WHAT?!" The teacher roared, red faced._

"_I cut off a spike of hair. Anywho, then he was like 'my beautiful hair! Oh my!-"_

"_I did not say that." The blonde cut in._

"_-and then he grabbed it and shoved it my darling hippo's nose! That's outrageous no? So then I started hitting him, and then you came over to yell at me, and then I told you my story and now we're here." She finished._

_Lysander chose to pipe in. "For the record, Mr. Nickels, she touched his hair first."_

"_I did not!" Elle yelped, then paused. "Oh, wait, yeah I did."_

_The poor teacher sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ms. Newburt, I am disappointed in you." The said girl frowned. "As punishment, I expect to see a new err…" He looked over the purple glob. "A new hippo on my desk Friday morning." He looked at his watch. "Oh pack up students!" He turned to leave but stopped after a few steps. Turning, Mr. Nickels said, "And Ms. Newburt, please try to make it look like a real hippo."_

_The girl scowled again as two boys roared with laughter._

_{END FLASHBACK}_

"So that's why his hair looks funny!" Olivia exclaimed.

Tancred scowled as Elle grinned. Then the girl scowled again, remembering her teacher's words. "Yeah, so, I need you to help me make a hippo since two giant jerks I know refuse to lend a hand." She stared pointedly at a certain pair of friends. Tancred attempted to look innocent as Lysander stuck out his tongue. "I love you guys. Really."

They both laughed. "Right back at cha darlin'." They replied, grinning. Tancred blushed a bit, and Sander winked at him inconspicuously.

Elle scowled, yet again, and looked at her friend. "So do you think you can help a poor soul like yours truly finish it?"

Emma gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry Els, but I'm only good at sculpting birds."

The girl gaped. "Really?" She squeaked. Emma just nodded. "Nooooooooooo! Wait." She turned to the orange headed actress. "Ols?"

"Nope. I can't make anything to save my life."

Elle's eyes grew fearful. "Gabs?" Gabriel shook his head. "Bill-word?" The albino shrugged sadly. "Char?" Charlie laughed. "Dell?" (2)

Fidelio sighed. "I still think those are dumb names. But nah, same as Liv."

Elle flopped downwards, to her spot next between Lysander and Tancred. "I hate sculpting."

Lysander smiled 'sympathetically'. "It's okay Elle, just make it look like a rhino without a horn."

She glared at him behind the arm thrown over her eyes. "I hate you Sandie."

The boy scowled as his friends laughed.

* * *

See, I believe I'd said that Elle hadn't been assaulted by the 'group of EVIL peoples' as she called them. And I was right. Until that day after math class.

Elle was packing her things, loading her giant book into her pack. She was alone in the room today. Usually Lysander and Tancred would wait for her, but the girl had sent them away, saying that she wanted to attempt to find the painting classroom herself. After all, she had been at the school for over a month and a half now. They had looked at her funny, probably thinking that she wouldn't be able to get there, but had left, the latter boy saying they would go find her if she got lost.

Anyways, Elle was just stepping out the book, that was luckily not too heavy, hit her in the noggin. "What the heck?" She muttered, rubbing her head. She down the hall, but couldn't see anything through the hoard of children crowding it to get to class. She picked up the book, seeing if it had a name. It did. "Ideth Branko?" Elle muttered.

"Right-o." A voice said behind her. Joshua Tilpin stood in all his five foot glory, arms crossed, looking at her. "I believe she'd like her book back."

"I can talk you know." One of the twins said from behind him, presumably Ideth. The porcelain-doll-made-human looked at Elle. "I'd like my book back."

The girl frowned. "What, no please? Or 'Thank you for picking up my book, but I'm totally unworthy'?"

Both twins scowled. Elle blinked. "I'm not asking," they said in their chilling voices.

"Fine." Elle shrugged, tossing one of them the book. "Your welcome. But do you really have to speak like that? It gets on my nerves."

They scowled again but didn't get to speak. "So you're the infamous Elle eh?"

Elle looked at the speaker. "And you're Smelly Nelly." (3)

The boy smiled, but it didn't look friendly. "Ah, here goes the cleverness I've heard oh-so much about."

The girl pretended to blush. "Ah, your making me blush. But complements wont get you anywhere." She said suddenly, an edge of steel laced with her voice. "What the hell do you want. And I'm not asking." Elle finished, looking at the twins mockingly.

"Well," the boy said. "I-"

"Dagbert!" Joshua whined pitifully. "I'm supposed to be the one talking!"

Dagbert growled. "Shut it kid!" Then he looked back at Elle. "As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted, I think you'd like to know that Manfred is currently trying to recruit you."

"Dagbert!" The twins screeched shrilly. "We are **not** supposed to tell her that!"

The boy glared at them silently. They turned away. "The girl wants to know so let her. She won't come with us if she doesn't." He turned to look at her, smirking. "That much even I would know."

Elle smirked back. "It's nice I'm so predictable. But," the steel came back. "I'd like to leave now, if you wouldn't mind. My class is almost starting and I don't plan on being late."

Joshua stepped in. "Well, things don't always go by plans," he replied, attempting to give her an 'icy' glare.

She smiled at him. "Darlin', if you want to be evil, work on the look. Your not really flaunting it right." She looked back at Dagbert. "Whatever this kid says, it's obvious you're in charge. So what. Do. You. Want?"

Dagbert flashed a grin. "I thought that was obvious."

* * *

"Tancred, if you don't stop worrying about her, I will hit you."

The said boy pouted moodily at his friend. "I'd like to see you try." _Bam. _"Okay, whatever. You hit me…and it hurt. But she's late." He winced, rubbing his arm.

Lysander sighed. "God, am I like this with Lauren(4)?" Tancred blushed. "Look, class starts in a good…" he checked his watch. "five minutes. If she's not here then-"

"We ditch class and go find her?" Tancred asked hopefully.

"No. We tell Mrs. Robins that Elle got lost somewhere, like last time she got lost(5), and she let's us go find her. **Right**?"

The blonde sighed. "Fine. But I have a bad feeling about this."

Lysander tilted his head. "Explain."

"I don't know. But my gut says something's wrong…"

* * *

"No."

Each of their faces reddened a little. "Wha-"

"Why not?" Dagbert said smoothly, cutting of an infuriated Joshua.

Elle sighed. "I said, no. I'm not joining your little league of super evil or whatever."

Dagbert sighed. "And why not?"

The girl frowned. "Why should I?"

"Well," Joshua started before the other boy could stop him. "if you join us, you can join the new reign Mr. Ezekiel-"

"You idiot!" The twins screamed. _Man they scream a lot_. Elle thought absently. "You aren't supposed to tell her that!"

"Oh." He said weakly.

Dagbert cut in after seeing Elle's questioning look. "What he means is why shouldn't you join? Everyone knows we're going to win. Why wouldn't we? We have more power on our side. What do you have? Hmm? A boy who talks to animals, a boy who sees through pictures, a bird-girl, some kid that can feel things through clothes? That's not going to help anyone. Your only weapons are storm boy and the African kid. And even those aren't that amazing."

"It's Tancred and Lysander." She said automatically. "And Charlie, Emma, Gabriel, and Billy are not worthless."

The drowner smiled cruelly. "No, of course not," he practically purred. "But look what we have. Telekinesis twins-" the girls grinned wickedly "- a boy who can attract anything, **even people**-" Joshua smirked with his 'icy glare' "-a hypnotizing pyrokinetic(6), and me, a drowner. You might want to know that our…boss, would love to have you on our side." His eyes flashed dangerously. "And he doesn't like taking no as an answer."

Elle pretended to think. "Oh my, that is a lot." Then she glared at the stringy haired boy. "But, I'd rather not join a group of people who can't seem to get their big heads unstuck from their asses." She smiled smugly. "Good day."

As she turned to walk away, Elle heard Dagbert say something. "Yes deary?" she asked without turning.

"I said, watch out." Then it all turned dark.

* * *

"Sander."

"What do you want Tanc? Wait, is it about Elle? Again?"

The blond smiled sheepishly. "Maybe."

"Spit it out." The African boy sighed.

"Well, you said we could look for her if she doesn't show up. And she didn't."

Lysander looked at his unfinished painting of a monkey. He turned to his friend. "Tancred, I know you feel an odd sense to protect her since you're head over heels-"

"Nuh-uh." Tancred muttered defensively, focusing on his sheep.

"-but I think she'll be fine." Lysander concluded. "And yes, you are."

"Nuh-uh. It's more like head over… stomach. That's half-way right?"

Lysander sighed. "That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. Gosh, you're starting to sound like her now."

Tancred blushed. "Well, well, whatever. I just have a bad feeling still."

The boy resisted an urge to roll his eyes. "Tancred."

He looked up. "What?"

"Talk to George."

Tancred scowled. "Screw you."

"I love you too bud. Love you too."

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There's the next chapter! Woohoo! Alright! Anyways, I like this chapter. For the notes:

1. That's a game I play with my friend. Basically you name things in alphabetical order, but it revolves around one topic. In their case, it's animals.

2. I think it's clear who's who, but Gabs is Gabriel, Bill-word is Billy, Char is Charlie, and Dell is Fidelio. I know, stupid names, but I don't know where they came from. Stupid hands kept writing them.

3. Hello, fish smell?

4. If you don't remember, Lauren is Lysander's girlfriend. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten her, I think she'll show up later…maybe? I don't know. Remember, I'm planning as I go, so I'm not really plan at all…

5. Obviously, Elle would get lost before this.

6. Manfred. He hypnotizes people and in the sixth book mentions he gets powers over fire. A pyrokinetic is "the name, coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind…" quote from Wikipedia.

Alrighty, here's the end of this chapter. No, not much romance. I think two lovey-dovey chapters in a row would be bad. At least to me it would. :D Sorry.

R&R!

~tubs.

Word count: 2606(OH JEA!)


	14. SMACK!

Ugh. Alright so, I had this chapter done and ready to load up yesterday, BUT my computer was being a big jerk and it broke down on me. So now I have to do this on a different {and slightly ancient…sort of} computer that keeps freezing. Meh. Well, if it looks different, sorry, since I'm using a different version of Word… Anywho. I should stop rambling. I'll put up some announcements first and then we'll get to it. Um…I finished uploading the others {not including villains or adults} on my deviant art so you can run over there to check it out. Also, I read over my last few chapters and I realized that I did some ending where Liv wasn't there, and I never finished it. Oops. Well, just forget about that…Ahem. The Fidelio series is postponed for a while since it's on the other computer too. And that's about it. Here we go….

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"Where am I?" Elle wondered for the…well she lost count of the number of times. After a few seconds, the girl winced, hearing her voice bounce off of the round wall of the room.

Upon awakening, Elle had found herself inside a cave-like place. It was perfectly circular, like a giant overturned dome. It was fairly large, just a smidgen smaller than an average bedroom. The whole wall was constructed purely of dirt. Nothing fancy; just plain, crumbly, dry, brown dirt. All around the wall, Elle felt scratches that were to narrow for a human to make. Bones, which after inspection from her own paranoia Elle happily declared as parts of a chicken-not a human, and human clothing that was several sizes to large for her lay in a pile by one of the walls. Small slivers of light fell through whatever served as a ceiling, but it wasn't enough to illuminate even half of the room. To the girl's disappointment, The scratched didn't go very far up, and they were the only dents in the otherwise perfectly smooth wall. It was nearly impossible to climb herself out, unless she could fly. And she couldn't.

She sighed, starting to walk in random circles, pacing again. "Okay," she mumbled quietly to herself, so she didn't have to hear everything rebounding from the wall. "So let's observe my situation shall we? Yes we shall. Okay, so I'm in a hole, or something pretty close to it. I'm almost certain that it is impossible for me to get out of here without the ability of flight. I believe that I'm still on Bloor's Academy grounds, or at the very least on some form of Bloor's property. I think it's night time…" She looked at her wrist. "Yeah, it's definitely night time. Thank whatever god there is they left me my super awesome glow-in-the-dark Batman watch. Whoa, it's already almost 9. Huh. Well, anyways. I have pretty much no supplies, save for a pile of old and not to mention ugly looking shirts that are huge, enough dirt to feed millions of dirt-eating earthworms, chicken bones, and more dirt." Elle nodded. "Yep that's pretty much it. Got any idea's how to get out?"

She pulled up her hand, ready to bite her nails as she did while thinking but stopped herself_. Liv would **kill**__ me._

Elle looked in front of her, and squinted. Without the light, she could barely see more than a few feet forward, and that was no help. She sighed again and flopped down onto the hard dirt floor. "Ow," She winced, rubbing her probably bruised behind. "Man, I really need something soft to sit on. Hmm…wait. Soft, clothes, hands…Got it!" After running to the pile of clothes, Elle grabbed everything and rearranged it to form a cushion of some sort. It was roughly the size of a pillow. "It'll do." She shrugged.

"Anywho, I have to find a way out." She said, plopping down on the pillow-thing. "Let's see. There's pretty much no light- which now that I think about it is pretty creepy…" she shivered a little. "It's not too cold, so that's good. I don't think they'll starve me, so that's good too." She yawned suddenly. "Huh," Elle blinked. "How am I sleepy? I just woke up. Oh well, whatever." She stifled a yawn and put her head on the clothes.

"Mmm…warm." She sighed happily. Then she scowled. "Great I bet Manfred's going to give me detention for skipping. Or maybe he put me in here?…Oh well. Hmm…I wonder what Tancred and Sander and Livvy and Emma and Gabriel and Char- I wonder what everyone's doing. I hope Tanc's not being a big worry wart. He does that too much." She chuckled. "Stupid kid. Man, I have to find a way out of here."

Elle closed her eyes after a final yawn. "Yeah, yeah brain. I'll go to sleep now. Night dark place…"

And she fell asleep.

* * *

"Tancred stop being such a worry wart!"

"I am not a worry wart. Warts are ugly. I'm like…a worry cloud." He said defensively.

Lysander rose his eyebrows, prepared to say something, but then thought against it. _A worry cloud…? _The boy sighed. "Okay, Tanc, a worry cloud. But you're worrying way too much."

"I am not!" Tancred retorted. After seeing a glance from his friend, he sighed too. "Okay, maybe just a little bit. But, it's just she's been gone all day-"

"Actually it's only been since math." The African chimed.

Tancred gave him a pointed glare. "Not the point. I'm just saying that it's really sorta suspicious that she just was, you know, gone. Just not there. And then Tilpin kept bugging me about her. 'Where's you girlfriend storm-boy?' or 'Where's that girl storm-boy?'" He added using a very inaccurate falsetto of the magnetic boy. "Ugh…"

Lysander smirked. _That kid is way in over his head_. "Okay, so he kept bothering you and stuff and you think it's odd that Elle has been gone for this long. Alright, what did George say?"

The blonde groaned. "Oh my god, don't even get me started on George. The second you said to talk to him he just launched into a full blown conversation about everything! Gah, my conscious freakin worships you! And then every time you talked he would shut up so he could hear your 'holy words' and then he would start talking about how unlike you I am until I reminded him about Elle and then he would-**Ugh**…"

_I take offence to that you know. No matter how true. _An annoying voice buzzed in Tancred's ear.

"And he says I'm being offensive though it's true."

Lysander fought the urge to laugh. "Well, I am a great man." He allowed himself to chuckle a bit after seeing his friend's exasperated face. "Okay, fine. Back onto topic."

Tancred flopped onto his bed, ignoring the glances from other roommates. "Thank you," He sighed. "So do you think something's up?"

Lysander hesitated. "Well…"

"Yes?"

"See, I think you should wait until tomorrow before making any plans. Wait!" He nearly shouted, knowing Tancred was going to argue. "It's like this. She gone for a day right? You can't exactly just declare her as missing. She could be visiting some so-old-I'm-about-to-fall-over-and-die relative in the hospital or something. She might be in the hospital herself. All I know is that it's not exactly a good idea to just burst out and stuff if you don't know she's gone in the first place. She'd probably slap you for that. Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid until after breakfast."

Tancred still felt like arguing, but thought against it. "Why should I promise something like that?"

Lysander laughed. "Because if I know you, then you'll do something stupid if you don't see her."

The blonde blushed. "I don't do things that are stupid…" He muttered.

"Alright-"

"BED!" A voice shouted out, and the room was plunged into darkness.

"Tanc?" Lysander whispered.

"What?" The boy answered.

"Promise?"

After grumbling incoherently for a few moments, Tancred sighed. "Yeah, promise."

* * *

It was early in the morning by the time Elle had awaken again. She yawned, stretching as a cat would. "Hmm.." She mumbled. "That was uncomfortable."

She sighed, rubbing her dry throat. "Aww man, I could really do with some water. But where am I supposed to get that?" She lazily flicked her wrist making a globe of water appear in front of her. She raised it to her lips and drank.

Her eyes widened in realization, making her drop the globe. She sputtered, spraying some of her drink from her mouth. It splashed everywhere. "**WATER**! Duh!" She hit her forehead then stumbled back at the force. "Whoa, a little bit too hard there. Whatever. Dammit, I could have gotten out yesterday! What kind of element person am I!? It's dirt, earth, ground, ugh!" She shook her head. "I'll just raise my self out. I am such an idiot."

Elle took a deep breath. _It's been forever since I've used my power. I can still do this, right? _Focusing on the air around her, the girl raised her hand upward. A satisfying crack and sound of wind ran though, raising her a couple feet off the ground, making her smile. "Yes!" She yelled, punching the air with her fist. "I can totally do this."

For the next couple minutes, the sound of rising wind and victories bounce of the cave.

* * *

"Tancred, hey bud, get up."

"Shut up mom."

Lysander raised an eyebrow. "I'm not your mom, and I hope I never am. That would be extremely awkward and a little wrong. Now get up!" He said, yanking the blankets away from his friend.

Tancred groaned and rolled over. Throwing an arm over his forehead, he cracked open one blue eye and stared at the African. "**Go. Away**. I'm sleeping." He closed both eyes again, reaching blindly for the covers.

Lysander tutted, pulling the blankets as far away from his friend's reach as he could. "Tancred, Tancred, Tancred. Do you even know what time it is?"

"NO. And I don't care. Gimme my blanket."

"Sigh. Well, I suppose I'll just skip down to a merry breakfast all by myself and see if our dear little **Elle** decided to show up. And when she asks where you are I'll ever so easily just explain to her that a **heartless, mean, lazy, certain little blonde **I know didn't even want to get out of his bed to go and see her. Imagine how heartbroken she will be. **Sad. Lonely. **_**Unloved**_." He finished with his hand flung over the general area of the heart.

In actuality, he didn't even have to finish. After hearing 'Elle' Tancred's ears had perked up, his eyes opened. Then, at about halfway through Lysander's not so brilliant speech, he was up and running into the bathroom, a bundle of clothes magically appearing in his hands. Lysander stared at his hand for a few moments, hearing the quick sound of running water, stumbling, bumping, rustling, and curses. There was a sound of fast winds blowing and a _blub_ from a jar of gel. He whistled softly, deciding against laughing.

Two minutes later, a refreshed Tancred jumped into the room. "Jeez, man you take forever. What are waiting for? Breakfast awaits." He almost ran out. Almost.

"Tanc, it won't do you any good to trip."

* * *

"I'm out, I'm out, I'm OUT!" Elle cheered, nearing what she thought was the top of the cave-thing. Looking up, there was a ledge that she had to get to. She smiled and boosted herself up a bit farther. Then she jumped.

"Yes!" She yelled, landing neatly on the ledge. She looked forward, scowling. "Geez, it's darker over hear then anywhere." She conjured a small ball of flames, admiring the light it cast around her. "Perfect." It took her a few moments to adjust to the light, but after blinking a few times, in was fine. "An exit. Exit…" She looked at a grey slab.

"A rock? A dumb little rock? Are they serious? How **cheesy**." She said pushing it aside. Elle's grin widened as she saw the outside. "FRESH AIR!"

* * *

Tancred moved fast, faster than Lysander had ever seen his normally laid-back body do. The boy 'walked' into the cafeteria, if you could call it walking, eagerly, searching over heads. In the line, his excitement mad him irritable, scowling every time someone took forever to choose food that "wasn't even going to taste good anyways." The blonde had earned a glare from Mrs. Weedon for that.

After getting his food, Lysander calmly followed his friend, who was trying his best to look calm. It didn't work. It could have been a known fact that Tancred Torsson was not a good actor. Especially since his winds grew just a little bit faster ,knocking more things over than it normally did. Tancred rushed to their normal spot on the table, where Elle should be.

Lysander paled as he sat. _Shit_. He thought.

Lysander doesn't cuss. He doesn't say 'bad words'. He has no reason to. That's because he's normally a calm, cool, collected person. But what Lysander does do is curse things. Especially the turn of events that happen in his life.

_She's not here_. "Uh, Tancred?"

"She **isn't** here." He responded quietly, glumly.

He cleared his throat. "Maybe she woke up late."

Tancred looked up, a steel in his eyes. "She **never** wakes up late. She wakes up early all the time. You know that."

Lysander gulped. "Maybe she-"

Tancred scowled deeply. "This has that drowner written all over it."

Before Lysander could stop him, Tancred marched out of the cafeteria, his cape billowing behind him. Kids dodged out of his way, trying to avoid the roaring winds. Lysander stared at his friend's full plate, cursing his fate. _This is __**not **__good. Not good at all._

Then he ran outside, like the rest of the smart students and teachers.

* * *

Surprisingly, Elle was able to find her way to Bloor's Academy. Maybe her direction skills had improved. Maybe she had a super cool GPS system programmed in her brain. Maybe it was just the fact that she could still see the place that stuck out from the grassy greenery from her spot next to the ruin.

Anyways, Elle smiled as she saw it, in all it's tall, grey, boring glory. "Woohoo! SCHOOL!"

Elle's smile faded as she noticed two things. One was that the sky was slowly darkening, the blue sky turning a shade as dark as her school's walls. The other was the hoards of children pouring from it's doors. "What?" She asked herself.

She prepared to walk over there, but then pause, conjuring a globe of water. "I look like crap." She muttered. "I need a shower." Then she drenched herself in water.

Elle gasped at the sudden coldness. Shaking, she conjured up a wind to dry her off. She nearly sighed in relief as she felt the water blowing of her. She looked at herself again, using a new water ball, and nodded satisfied. Then she walked over to a blob of purple hair.

"OLS!"

Olivia turned quickly, looking desperately for the source. Only one person called her like that. "ELS!" She squealed, running and toppling the poor girl in a bone crushing hug. Then she let go, hiding behind a cough. "Ahem. Well," Olivia's eyes flashed as she put her hand on her hips. "Where were you missy?"

Elle smiled sheepishly, getting up. "Long story. But," her brow furrowed. "What's going on?"

Olivia's face darkened. "Well, Tancred."

Elle's face twisted in confusion. "Sorry? I heard Tancred."

The actress nodded. "He…" She hesitated. "Basically he's attacking Dagbert for 'kidnapping you' and demanding your return."

The element user gasped. "What?"

"Yeah," Olivia nodded.

Elle's face flashed. "I'm going in."

The other girl nodded. "Music cafeteria."

* * *

"I didn't do anything!"

"Don't lie to me fish-boy. Where is she?"

Dagbert flinched as another current of wind swirled dangerously behind him. "I'm telling you, I don't have any idea where Manfred put her!" He flinched involuntarily, hoping his elder wouldn't hurt him for the lie.

Tancred almost growled. "Yeah, right." He raised a fist, not even registering the door blasting open.

"I don't know!" Dagbert nearly yelped.

This time the blonde did growl. It was surprising and Dagbert blinked before flinching. Tancred pulled back his arm, preparing to hit the poor boy.

"**TANCRED TIMOTHY TORSSON! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU"RE SORRY ASS IS DOING?!?"**

He blinked and turned around, the winds instantly dying. "Elle?"

_SMACK!_

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I'm done! This took FOREVER to write by the way. I changed it from the original….. Whatever. :D Anywho, I forgot the disclaimer so** I no own CotRK. Nimmo owns, not me**.

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count: 2792


	15. The Parents

**Alright, so luckily, I found out that my computer wasn't busted. Unfortunately, I found out I have no common sense because I forgot to check if it was unplugged. D: But another piece of good news is that since my computer is up and running, Fidelio's series can come out sooner! Whooo! Well, anyways, this is my next chapter, and I don't have any more announcements…wait. I'd like to apologize for swearing in the last chapter. I don't like swearing necessarily, but eh, it felt necessary. I don't know, I'd yell at him like that… But the story is rated T so it can have mild swearing I suppose. Anywho. I no ownz. Nimmo ownz**. Ha-ha…On with the chappie.

_Blah- thinking or flashback or sounds_

**Blah- Disclaimer or stressed words **

Blah- writing

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Elle stared at him infuriated, her hair going everywhere from walking through the wind and hands clenched tightly into fists. Her face wore a deep scowl, and her silver blue eyes were narrowed from glaring at him. She was huffing, making it obvious she had done some running to get there. But besides all this, Tancred couldn't feel more happy. He rubbed the red spot on his cheek absently, barely registering the fact that it burned, it stung, and it throbbed almost painfully. Then she groaned loudly and began yelling at him.

"You idiot! What were you thinking, Tancred, attacking Dagbert like that! Geez! People are outside crying and stuff because they think you're going to go after them with a sharp and pointy lightning bolt or something!" She ran her fingers through her already messy hair in frustration. "I was gone for one day- **No. **Not even a day, and you go all crazy on me and destroy the whole freaking cafeteria! What if I was sick or something? Would you go after nurses threatening them to hand me over from their evil lair? And speaking of nurses, you can't forget the emotional trauma you caused on the students! They're going through stress and freaking out on the poor workers. Not to mention sent a couple other people to the hospital wing for injuries," she waved her hands wildly, expressing her point. Then she pointed at him. "Well, they **should **be in the hospital wing but nooo, a certain blonde boy I know decided to make all the teachers freak out and run-"

"You're back?" both boys asked.

Elle rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips. "Does it look like I'm back? I'm pretty sure I am. I sure as hell am not a ghost if that's what you're asking. That, m'dears, would be freaky. Scary. I'm walking, talking, and defiantly breathing." She blew a puff into her hand as if it would prove her point. Then she turned back to him. "And I'm not done yelling at you Tancred. You are going to pay soo bad-"

She was cut short as an unstoppable force knocked the breathe out of her. She blushed and awkwardly patted the spiked of blonde hair settled comfortably on the top of her shoulder. "Err, Tancred?"

The boy stepped back, smiling brightly. "God, it is you!" He laughed nervously, blush illuminating his entire face, realizing he had hugged her. "Uh, sorry Elle, but you know, I thought that Dagbert had something to do with this cause…well you know…the whole Asa thing…and…" He looked away embarrassed.

Instantly, the girl's face changed. Elle grinned wickedly, looking toward the drowner. Both boys flinched; Tancred knowing what would happen and Dagbert's from losing all hope from being forgotten. "Oh, yes, you. Don't think I just **conveniently** forgot about you, Mr. Endless." She walked slowly toward the shivering frame, circling it. "See, you're little plan of locking me up in that little hole could've worked, but you forgot that I know how to use my power. My super coolio, awesome, useful power. You know how I got out? I **flew. **Although, now that I think about it, there are so many more interesting ways I could've gotten out." Elle strode up next to him. "But that's not the point. The point is that you had the nerve to lock me up in a place that's dark and freaky. And though I have to admire that nerve, I have to say one thing. Night Dagbert." She grinned as the younger boy's face twisted in panic. Then she punched him, right across the cheek. He hit the floor with a _thud _and promptly passed out. "You're lucky I don't hate you," she grunted, flexing her soon-to-be bruised knuckles.

Tancred's grin only grew wider. "It's nice to have you back."

"Nice to be back," she winked back.

And that was the moment the teachers decided to run in.

* * *

"Ms. Newburt. Mr. Torsson."

Both students winced inwardly. Elle whispered a silent prayer. _Dear God, please don't have Dr. Bloor talk to my dad. Please, please, please._

"I can't say I'm surprised to see you here," the headmaster said, stepping behind his desk. He looked at each of them one at a time, looking accusingly into their eyes before staring at his hands. He sighed, sitting down on the leather chair. It groaned from his weight- most of which I should remind you is muscle. He crossed his hands over the table, the way principals do, and resumed speaking. "Do you know why you're here?"

Elle resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _Rhetorical questions? How typical_. She looked up at him, deciding to answer anyways. "Yessir." Tancred hid a small smile.

Dr. Bloor gave her a aggravated glance. "And can you explain why **Elemoret**?" He smirked behind his serious mask, knowing full well she hated being called that.

Elle flinched inwardly, cursing him silently. "I punched a fellow student, and slapped another, sir, which I believe are against the rules… I might have broke the door too." She admitted.

The teacher chose to ignore the last comment. "And you Mr. Torsson?"

Tancred sighed. "Assaulting another student and destruction of school property." He paused for a moment. "Again."

"Exactly." Dr. Bloor said, getting to his feet with a dramatic flourish of his black cape. He turned to Elle. "Now, Since this is you're first violation of rules, I have invited your parent to have a little chat with me." He then rolled his attention to the young storm-bringer. "Since this is your fiftieth, a new record may I add, I have also invited your parents."

Tancred shrugged, used to it. The girl had different reactions though. Elle shot up. "But sir!" she protested. "Is that really necessary? Can't you just let me off with a warning or something. I mean surely he don't have to come here, that's…that's…absurd!" The girl's face was flustered from embarrassment, and anger.

The headmaster smirked. "Oh, no. You have violated property. Your parents must see the damage. In fact, they should be arriving anytime now."

As if on cue, the door blasted open from a jolt of water. Dr. Bloor grimaced as his carpet, his **new **carpet, was soiled from falling droplets. Then he put on a smile as a gust of wind instantly dried it. In walked the Newburt father and both Torsson's, a wild wind billowing around the father.. "I think I'll just leave you to explain to your parents." And out he walked, past the fuming adults.

"Tancred! It's been a couple months! A record for you! You couldn't not destroy the property? Why did you do it!?"

"Elle, I told you no to get in trouble! A couple detentions I can handle, but nooo, you had to get yourself mixed up in some sort of school destruction party! Why?"

Then both parties paused, features softening a bit, and looked at their children. "What happened?"

The children looked at each other, blinking as their parents failed to noticed speaking at the same time. Tancred made a gesture between them. _Together?_

Elle merely shrugged in agreement. _Might as well._

"Well?" The impatient fathers asked. Then they blinked, seeing they wore the same poses, hand crossed over their chests and feet tapping.

"You see, it all started after math." Elle started, beginning a tale even Tancred hadn't heard. "I was packing up to go to painting, without my two trusty guards-"

"Guards?" Mrs. Torsson asked with interest.

Elle smiled. "I meant Tanc and Lysander. I hang out with them too much." Tancred nodded in agreement. "Anywho-"

"Wait, so you're…Elle?" Mrs. Torsson asked, her brow furrowing.

"Yes, why?"

The mother smiled cheekily. "Tancred talks about you a lot."

The boy blushed red, to Elle's amusement. "It's okay Tancie." He hid his face behind his hair, which didn't quite work since it was spiked. "Oh, by the way. Dad, this is my friend Tancred. I told you about him remember?"

Elle's father nodded. "I've heard."

Elle smiled. "Good. Anywho, I should continue. As I said, I told the guys that I wanted to find my way there by myself, since I thought I should be able to get myself there after Sander showing me the way every day for a month or so. So after they left, I stepped out of the doorway when this rather large book decided to pop out of nowhere and plonk me on the head. I was like ' What the-"

"Elle." her father warned.

"What the heck. Happy? Anywho, then I picked it up and the owner, who's name is Ideth Branko but she has a twin so no one knows who's who, came out of nowhere, obviously with her twin, ad Joshua and Dagbert. But-" She hesitated, not really wanting to tell everything. " Well, long story short, we argued after I decided not to join their side-"

"Their side?" Elle's dad asked, confused. "Is this a game?"

Tancred's father cut in. "Mr…." He looked at him.

"Richard. Just call me that."

The blonde father nodded. "I'm Timothy.(1) My wife's Aggie. Pleasure. But what she means by 'side' is that there is pretty much a fight going on between the King's-"

"Who's this king?" Richard interrupted.

"You don't know?" Tancred's mother asked, shock written on her face.

Tancred shared a look with Elle. She shrugged. "Dad, basically he's this dude who had ten kids and then all the kids had powers like me and you-"

"You and me. Grammar."

"Fine. You and me. Then he left somewhere after his wife died and then five of the kids turned mean and five turned good. Then he saw it all again and supposedly turned into a tree from grief."

Her dad nodded. "That sounds familiar. Let me guess. We're descendants?"

Tancred nodded. "Most likely. Probably Petrello. Good guy. (2)"

Timothy's eyebrows sot up. "Oh really? What's your endowment?" he asked the Newburt's curiously.

"Sir, I was getting to that." Elle said impatiently. _Adults talk too much_. " Anyways, we argued and when I refused they knocked me out."

Tancred looked curious but didn't question it. "Meanwhile, me and Sander-"

"Sander and I!" Elle's dad corrected, exasperated. "What does a simple grammar teacher have to do to get a little good grammar!?"

"Grammar teach-"

"Dad, really. Later." Tancred cut in. "As I was saying, Sander and I were at painting class and after Elle didn't show up, Sander wouldn't let me go find her. At the end of the day, he was like 'maybe she's busy' and 'wait until morning to do something stupid' since he figured that I should check if Elle came back." Elle snickered earning a glare from him.

"Ahem. When I woke up, I was in a cave place and I got my self out using my super cool element powers," she looked at Mr. Torsson, who nodded in interest. "Then I walked to the school where there were kids all over the place screaming their heads off."

"When I woke up I went to breakfast and didn't see Elle at our spot. And then I kind of…" the boy looked away ashamed.

"He kind of went crazy and attacked Dagbert for 'kidnapping' me, which though it isn't a lie is not exactly true either. Then I showed up with and err…" This time Elle looked away.

"She blew down a door, slapped me, punched the little git, and then here we are." Tancred finished.

The parents' eyes lit up understandingly. "Ah, I see." Mr. Torsson said.

"Yes, I do too." Mr. Newburt agreed.

"They like each other." Mrs. Torsson finished. "Isn't that cute?"

Both teens sputtered, choking. _Is it THAT obvious? _Was the only thought racing through their heads. Tancred recovered first, his face beet red. "Mom!"

Elle was just as flushed. "Th- That's absurd! Anyways that's not the point. We're in trouble here."

The parents shared a look. "Yes, you are. You are defiantly going to be in trouble when you get home." Mr. Torsson nodded.

"That's it?" Tancred asked, confused.

"Of course!" Aggie smiled. "You fought for the sake of lo-"

"I don't like him!"

"I don't like her!"

Both blinked and looked away from each other's eyes. Mr. Newburt grinned, turning to the Torsson's. "So Aggie, Tim, would you like to come over Tomorrow. It's Saturday!"

"Of course!" The woman answered.

Elle groaned. "Dad…"

He laughed just as Dr. Bloor strode into the room. He raised his eyebrows at the sound of laughter. Were they not supposed to be furious? "Are you alright sir?" He asked politely.

Elle's father's eyes sparkled. "Perfect. Now how much do I owe you for that door?"

The teens groaned in their minds, thinking the same thing._ I hate my family._

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The end! Well, yep. There goes a bit of… well, not really fluff. More like denial. Haha.. Ahem. Well, anyways…

1. I don't know Tancred's parent's names. I just made up random ones. Yeah, Mr. Torsson's is the same as Tancred middle, but whatever.

2.I'm not actually sure if Petrello was a good guy or a bad guy, but let's pretend he is a good guy..

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count:2406


	16. Suits, Dresses, and Twister

Okie dokie, it's Thursday noon time and I am sleepy. Quite sleepy. But I have to write this chapter, since it's been a while, so I will. And I will try my best to make sure it doesn't sound as bad as I might make it… That did not make sense. Oh well, I think you know what I mean. Ahem. **I don't own the CotRK series; none of the characters or settings are mine. Give all the credit to Mrs. Nimmo. **

Also, for this chapter, I've chosen an icon for Tancred. He kind of looks like Tom Felton in this picture: *http://i194.*photobucket*.com/albums/*z24/Call_Me_Your_Sweetheart/malfoy*.jpg Take out the stars...

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"Well now, this won't be awkward at all." Elle said, her tone sarcastic.

Mr. Newburt sighed. "Elle, love, if you would, please do me the pleasure of hearing the great silence of this house."

Elle sighed, aggravated. "If I must." She remained quiet for a couple seconds. Then she spoke up. "Okay, you just heard it. Now why do they have to come?"

"If I remember correctly, you and Tancred are friends." He raised an eyebrow. "Right?"

She scowled lightly. "Uh, yeah, we are. But that's not the awkward part. Do you know what I think it is?" She paused but continued before he could answer. "The fact that my dad is in a suit fancy enough to meet the queen of England to greet my friend's parents. Or maybe the fact that he's making a- may I add poor- attempt to recreate our house into a fancier than it ought to be restaurant. Possibly the way that he was trimming his disgustingly long nose hairs just a few minutes ago would make it worse. Oh, I don't know. There might be more. Like the fact that I'm wearing a **dress**?" She glared at the table, pinching the silver lined cloth with her fingers.

"Well, maybe it's none of those." He smiled, then frowned. "Okay, maybe I'm over doing it a little bit, but I'm meeting your soon to be in-laws!"

Elle groaned and began banging her head against the hard wood. "Dad, it's not like that. I certainly don't like Tancred like that. And we've barely known each other for about two months, or was it less?" She pondered that for a second. "Well, it doesn't matter."

Her dad just chuckled. "Oh, keep believing that." He adjusted the table cloth.

"Dad, weren't they just coming over? Sure it's be like five when they come, but do you really need to set out a dining area?"

"Of course!" He exclaimed, gasping. "Darling, if things go the way I plan, we'll be talking until midnight."

She groaned. "When I grow old, I hope I never ever turn out like you. You are way to dramatic for a guy pushing forty."

* * *

"This is really weird. And by 'really weird' I mean that I look retarded and this whole ordeal is completely **pointless**."

"Oh please, Tancred, just get in the car."

"But Mom, why am I in a suit? It's not like they'll be in fancy clothes too!"

Mrs. Torsson sighed. "You're not in a suit and you don't know that. And it's because it's rude to go dressed improperly."

Tancred rolled his eyes as he got into the car. "And I suppose it's not rude to go dressed too properly? What's it called? Maybe **overdressed**?"

Mr. Torsson shrugged. "Who knows. When you figure it out, write a book."

He groaned. "Dad, seriously." The car started, his father driving out to the address. "This is stupid. Do I have to go?"

Mrs. Torsson tutted. "Now, now Tanc, don't get all fussy because you'll be seeing your girl-"

"She **ISN'T **my girlfriend!"

* * *

A ding rang throughout the not-so quite house, barely loud enough for the girl to hear it. Apparently her father didn't since he was still humming away as he set out the table. She sighed and turned off her game. Dusting off the skirt of her dress, Elle walked to the door. "Hmm…That's them." she said, seeing a flash of bright yellow hair in front of the peep hole.

"Hey," She said boredly, opening the door. Then her eyes opened in surprise. Standing in front of her were the three blonde Torssons. Mrs. Torsson, Aggie, was wearing a periwinkle colored dress, her hair up in a fancy bun. She wore a happy expression, like Tancred's giant of a father. He wore an outfit just as dashing; a black suit and tie with his hair gelled back. But what really caught her attention was a just as surprised Tancred. He was donned in a simple white button up and black tie, and his hair was surprisingly unspiked, giving him an older look.

Tancred smiled, looking at her. Elle's hair was down and slightly teased, making it fuller, and her bangs were straightened to the side so they weren't as messy. Her dress was a strange shade of blue, it was light and dark at the same time. She wore a black mini jacket-thingy (A/N: I think they're called shrugs or something) that covered her shoulders and black flats.

She smiled back, winking, then turned to his parents. "Um, hi," She said, suddenly nervous. "My dad's out in the living room and-"

"ELLE! DON"T ANSWER THE DOOR TO STRANGERS! UNLESS THEY"RE GIVING YOU MONEY, THAT'S OKAY!" There was a pause. "ACTUALLY, NO IT'S NOT!

She rolled her eyes. "Excuse me," then she turned around. "DAD THEY'RE OUT HERE!"

The Torssons were unaffected by the noise, seeing as the storm-bringers brought enough sound to their home, and soon heard the sound of quick pounding feet. Elle jumped aside just as Mr. Newburt came crashing to the door, huffing. "Sorry…She…didn't…tell-"

"It's okay, Richie," Mrs. Torsson interrupted softly. "So can we come in?"

Mr. Newburt blinked then laughed. "Oh, yes, okay. Please." Then he looked at Elle who had somehow ended up next to a blushing Tancred. "And you two lovebird, try to keep off each other okay?" He winked and left, chuckling at their flaming faces.

Elle looked away for a minute, unaware that her friend was doing the same, and then coughed. "So, you want to go to my room?"

Still looking a little dazed, he answered. "Why not?"

"Cool." Elle smiled, then grabbed his wrist. She lead, or pretty much dragged since he stumbled behind, him up the stairs then paused on the landing, looking for her dad. She saw him sipping something with the Torssons. "Hey, Dad!" She shouted, leaning over the railing. He looked up. "We're going to my room, okay?" She left before he could answer.

Mr. Newburt chuckled into his tea. "Ah, kids."

Mrs. Torsson agreed. "Yes, young love." she sighed. "They look so cute."

Mr. Torsson chuckled. "Yes, yes." He turned to Elle's father. "So what did you say your endowment was?…"

* * *

"You're room is almost as bad as mine." Tancred said, looking at the piles of stuff strewn everywhere.

Elle shrugged. "Before I clean it probably." Then she swept her hand in a wide arc, returning things to their place. "But not anymore. Happy?"

The boy's eyes widened. The clothes and dolls flew into hampers or onto the bed. It had transformed from a messy dump to a normal room. A medium sized bed was pushed against the blue walls. There were bright green sheets covering it, electric purple pillows on the head. A small television was placed over a drawer covered in little trinkets and pictures. There was a desk in the far corner with a black computer sitting snuggly on top. Beanbag chair things were plopped on the ground, over a rug blocking the closet. "You **have** to teach me how to do that."

"Mmm, someday." She laughed, seeing his curiosity. Then she looked over his attire. "So… You're parent's got all fussy too?"

He nodded, fingering the collar of the button up. "They said 'it's rude to look improperly' or something like that." He grimaced. "Ugh, you have no idea how uncomfortable this outfit can get. Wouldn't let them get me in that jacket though, it's way too hot for that."

Elle chuckled, smiling. "Mr. Weatherman thinks it's hot. My, my, that's quite a surprise. Couldn't he just predict it to be something else?"

"Maybe he could," Tancred winked. "But don't tell his mom that."

They laughed loudly and then settled into a silence; not an awkward one, just silence. Elle spoke first. "So what do you want to do?"

He frowned. "Well, this is you're house. You should have something to do, right?"

The girl sighed. "I guess. But it's not all that interesting. Do you have any ideas?"

Tancred stopped to think about it for a little bit. "Well, I suppose we could…" He paused again. "How about…"

"Twister?" Elle suggested, a challenging gleam in her eyes.

The blonde smiled arrogantly. "Why m'lady, did you just challenge me to a game?"

She grinned back, equally confident. "Why yes, young sir, I believe I did."

And so the game began.

* * *

"It says," Tancred craned his neck awkwardly. "Err, right foot yellow."

Elle grimaced and stretched her leg, moving from blue to yellow. She blushed as she had to move it under Tancred's arched torso. "Ah, got it."

Tancred grinned. "Okay, my turn." He concentrated and blew a small gust of wind over the hanging board. It spun a couple times and then stopped. "Right arm yellow." He breathed a sigh of relief. Adjusting it, he sighed. "Way better."

Elle snorted. "Yes, you get the so much easier position. Stupid board." She tried glaring at her crossed arms, but they were hanging beneath her. She looked at the chest hanging over her head. "I swear, that thing has something against me."

Tancred laughed softly, blushing slightly as he blew another blast of air onto the board. "Well, you don't have someone under you. I bet you anything that this game is going to kill my back."

The girl grinned slyly and blew softly onto his chest. He squirmed uncomfortably. "Your right. So what does it say?"

"Left leg green."

She paled then cursed at the boy's laugh. "I can totally do this, just watch." She attempted it, bending her knee back, shivering as she brushed against his leg. Barely, a toe landed on the green circle. Elle grinned in triumph. "What. Now."

He scowled. "Fine." Another current hit the board. The point twirled and land. "Dammit."

Elle laughed then added innocently, "Sweetie it's your turn. Right leg on red!"

Tancred blinked, just as innocent. "I'm sorry but how am I supposed to do that with your fatness blocking my way?"

She scowled. "I am not fat. And hurry up." Tancred groaned as he attempted it, then gasped out it surprise when his leg knocked down hers. He landed with an 'oomph!' over the girl. She squirmed, attempting to free herself. "Tancred, move your big fat butt!"

He laughed and got up. Elle burst out from under him, chanting about her win. "I won. I won. I WOOON!"

He sighed. "You do realize you fell first so technically I won, right?"

She pouted. "Not true, I was the innocent little victim that fell because you couldn't finish your turn."

He smiled, amused, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You do should also realize that you just aren't very threatening in a dress."

She scowled. "I'll show you threatening."

Without warning, Elle ran into him, knocking the breath from his lungs as he fell, grunting. Tancred looked at the girl sitting on top of him. "Did you just tackle me?" She nodded smugly. He groaned. "Well, could you get off? I swear my ribs are breaking from your weight."

She huffed and stepped over him, getting up. She pulled him up. "Well sorry, Mr. I Have No Muscle So I Can't Support The Weight Of One Girl."

Tancred huffed. "I have some muscle, thank you very much."

Elle smirked. "And my name is Kyle Brunswick."

He smirked. "Fine, Kyle Brunswick. Look." He pulled up his arm into one of those muscle man poses. "Bam. Right there."

Unfortunately, that was the moment his father decided to walk into the room. He stared at his son with a blank expression. No one moved. His eyes sparkled with amusement, his mouth slowly turned up. Tancred flushed. "Dinner's ready." Then Mr. Torsson walked out of the room.

"Wait, Dad, this is not what it looks like, I swear-"

Elle burst out laughing.

* * *

Dinner was, luckily, not as awkward as is may have appeared. It started mostly with Mr. Torsson telling his wife and Mr. Newburt about what he had walked into, the adults chortling with laughter. Tancred was bright red right down to his Adam's Apple, Elle was snickering quietly behind her hand. Then, somehow, it lead to baby stories. "And then he climbed onto the table and-"

Tancred coughed and spoke. "Hey, so what did you guys do?" He looked at the three quite amused parents.

"Oh nothing," Mrs. Torsson answered. "Just talked about work, our families, you two, and other older people stuff like that." She shared a hidden smile with the two fathers as the children flushed. "What did you two do?"

Elle grinned. "Twister."

Mr. Newburt nodded. "Ah, so that was all the yelling. I thought you were killing each other or something." He laughed. "It's amazing how you could keep up a two hour game though."

Tancred laughed. "Yeah, well I won." He smiled.

Elle scowled. "That is not true! You knocked me over."

The boy clicked his tongue. "That doesn't matter. You fell first."

"But you knocked me over."

"Maybe I did, but I won."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did-"

Mr. Torsson laughed, his voice booming like thunder. "Okay, it was a **tie**. Happy?" Tancred and Elle just huffed and turned away from each other.

Mr. Newburt looked at their empty plates. "Well, you can go, I suppose."

The two shot up like bullets and raced to the room.

The adults shared a laugh.

* * *

"What's this?"

Elle glanced at the box in Tancred's hand. She grinned. "Just some movies."

Tancred's eyes brightened. "Really? What do you have?"

The girl grinned and took the box. She opened the 'lock', which wasn't really locked, and opened the lid. "Look."

The next few minutes were spent commenting on the movies, and browsing through them. Tancred stopped suddenly and looked at her. "Hey, let's watch one!"

Elle shrugged. "Why not? Just pick something."

He smirked and fingered the covers. "How about…Lord of the Rings?"

She laughed. "Nice choice." Then she grabbed it and popped it into the DVD player. "Lights?" She asked.

Tancred nodded. "Yeah."

Elle flipped the switch and jumped onto her bed, landing on her side. She stretched, then blinked at him. "Care to join me?"

He looked at her, disbelief written on his face. "You honestly expect me to share your bed with you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just get over here."

Tancred sighed, secretly thanking her for turning out the lights so it hid the blush over his face. He plopped over on the opposite side, lying down on a pillow. The he grimaced and shifted it slightly. Elle looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "Something wrong?"

He grinned playfully. "Just making myself comfy."

She rolled her eyes, pressing play on the remote on her nightstand. "Yeah, whate-" She yawned.

Tancred grinned. "Sleepy?"

"No." She snapped. Laying back down to watch the movie.

"Sure, okay."

* * *

Elle fought herself to keep awake_. This is barely the part where the Merry and Pippin come in!_ She tried to focus on the screen but found herself floating off…

* * *

"Elle?" Tancred said, feeling something hit his shoulder. He looked at it and smiled softly. "I knew she was sleepy." He fingered a lock of her brown hair, watching her face.

_She's so peaceful._

A voice sniggered. _You sound like a love-sick puppy. _

Tancred could swear he heard himself roll his eyes. _Shut up George. But I meant that._

George sighed. _That phrase has been overused in way too many romance things._

_I know. _Tancred laughed mentally. He felt something grab him. The boy looked down to see Elle with her fist curled into his shirt. He could almost laugh. _Well, this is…_

_Oddly comfortable? _A voice said, not too helpfully.

Tancred blushed. _Yeah. _

_Just go to sleep._

* * *

"Tancred?"

Mrs. Torsson made her way to the room. It was oddly quite, except for the sounds of crunching. _What the..? Must be a movie. _She thought. She opened the door, slowly, trying not to disturb the movie for them. "Tancred, it's time to…."

She smiled, looking at her son. He had his arm around Elle, his head resting on her head as she unconsciously curled up closer into his chest. Both were sleeping. _How cute. _She smiled, closing the door.

"Is he ready?" Mr. Newburt asked, coming from behind her with her husband.

Mrs. Torsson giggled and shushed them, opening the door. Both fathers peeked in and smiled. "Well?"

Mr. Newburt smiled, pulling his head back. "Well, do you need the guest room?"

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Aw…Haha, well this one is filled with really cheesy fluff. Ahem, yeah, I don't really have anything to write here…Oh wait. Question: Has anyone seen the Harry Potter movie? The Half Blooded Prince? I want to **sooooo** bad…

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count: 3324


	17. Madams and Misters

So, this is the newest addition to Untitled, the story about Elle. :] And I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews that I got, and well that's pretty much it. ;) **I don't own any part of the CotRK series, it's all Jenny Nimmo's. I own the Newburts and George though.. **

_Blah- thinking or dream or flashback or sounds_

**Blah- Disclaimer or stressed words **

Blah- writing

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Elle woke up, it was just about that precise moment at dawn where it's not quite morning, but you can obviously see those bright rays from the sun. The voices of birds sang, perched on the rather large tree outside her window, their melodies annoying and soothing all at once. She sighed, inhaling deeply, when an unfamiliar, yet hardly unpleasant, scent washed over her. _What the hell?_

She didn't really feel like seeing what it was, since it was quite soothing, but tried to feel her surroundings. The only thing was that she couldn't move her arms. They were held in front of her, clutching something soft. Elle could feel heat radiating from the thing. She frowned, squirming against her restrictor.

Elle opened her eyes, trying to see the force, but only met white cloth. She wiggled a little, feeling arms restrict her from moving, and heard light snoring. Her frown only deepened as she heard that. _Why is there a person in my bed?_ She grimaced, struggling against the person's, who she had briefly identified as male, grip. Elle succeeded enough to be able to tilt her head and look up. Her eyes bulged.

"**WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!?!"**

_

* * *

_

Tancred smiled dreamily. "Mmm… The air is so cool."

_Lysander rolled his eyes. "Come on Tanc," he shook his leg impatiently on the seat. "It's time to go save the princess."_

_The blonde scowled. "Sander, let me remind you that you're my sidekick. You aren't suppose to tell me what to do."_

"_And let me remind you that we're in a blue convertible going to save __**Princess**__ Elle in the middle of a forest from a gang of evil mafia warriors. That's not supposed to happen either. How about we start with the fact that fourteen year olds aren't supposed to drive?"_

_Tancred frowned. "Quit ruining my dreams. Now where is that alley?"_

"_You know, there shouldn't be an alley in the middle of the forest either." The African sighed, seeing the look his friend gave him from behind the wheel. "Just pointing that out…Fine, it's by the magical oak tree."_

"_Ah," Tancred said, seeing the impossibly tall tree. "Found it." He rounded the car to a stop by an out of place alley between two also way too tall trees. Then he and his somewhat reliable sidekick jumped out of the car, heading into the darkness._

"_AHHH! HELP ME!" An uncharacteristic cry sounded, coming from the back of the mysterious alley. "SAAAAAVE ME!"_

"_Elle!" He yelled heroically, somehow expertly dodging the mafia men as they flew at him. He dived into the crowed pass and, with his sidekick the Sander Mander, fought through to the end. Then he saw her. He gasped as the mafia boss held up an Elle shield, a gun at her head as she struggled against the man's restrains. _

"_AHHH!" She screamed and then saw him. "It's BREEZE!"_

_He stood straight up proudly. "Yes, it is I! The one and only, Breeze! I, who protect all from peril. I, who swore to protect the citizens of Coolsville!"_

_The boss stared at him shaking slightly. "STAY BACK! I GOT THE GIRL!"_

_Tancred, the hero named Breeze, nodded to Sander Mander. Lysander, who was strangely almost a foot shorter than Tancred in the dream, concentrated on bringing out his ancestors to fend off the other mafia dudes that were trying to interfere with the fight as Tancred ran full speed and used some super coolio martial arts move to trip the mafia dude. He let go of Elle as he fell and then she ran behind him, crying ,which was pretty uncharacteristic too. "WHAT NOW MAFIA BOSS!" He shouted grabbing Elle and running back to the car._

"_Oh thank you!" She cried happily as they got to the car. "I didn't know what that evil man was going to do to me!" _

_Tancred ignored the fact that her voice was oddly high, and that her eyes were somehow amazingly huge. "Your welcome." He said in a…manly voice. _

_She sighed. "If only I could see my savior's face…"_

'_Breeze' turned to her, miraculously looking at the girl and driving without crashing through the dense forest. "You can."_

_Then she gasped and lifted his mask. "Tancred!" Elle gasped, again._

"_In the flesh." He grinned. A snicker came from the backseat, making Tancred give his friend a sideways glare._

_She sighed happily. "Wow! You're so strong and manly!" Then she leaned into his face, eyes closed. Tancred leaned in, closing his eyes-_

"**WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!?!?"**

Tancred's eyes snapped open automatically, the scream waking him from his dream. He groaned, blinking. _Great, the best part. _

_Really? That's one stupid dream._ George mused.

He groaned again. Then he felt something squirming against his chest. He looked down, blinking. "E-E-ELLE?" He stuttered disbelieving, face flushed a brilliant hue of red.

"Yes!" She answered, scowling. Her face was just as red. "Now can you please let go of me?"

"Huh?" the boy said dumbly. Elle groaned, obviously aggravated, and squirmed again, making him see the hold she was in. If it were possible, Tancred would've sworn he was even brighter. "Oh, uh right." He let go hurriedly.

Elle sighed in relief. "Thanks." Suddenly, she pulled a fist and hit Tancred across his cheek. He flinched, grabbing his jaw at the impact, although it didn't hurt unbearably, which was good. "Now **why** are you here exactly? And hugging me in my sleep? I could've sworn that we don't live together, and even if we did, I'd never share a bed with you."

Trying his best to keep his cool, Tancred shrugged, face still burning. He rubbed the punch. "What was that for? It's not like I would know."

"Elle, are you okay?" Mr. Newburt said, striding into the room. Tancred's parents followed, yawning.

The girl scowled. "No, not really. I woke up to a chest in my face, thank you very much." Then she looked at the half-asleep Torssons. "And no offence, but why are you still here?"

Mr. Torsson chuckled, wiping sleep from his eyes. "Well, you see," he yawned dramatically. "Sorry. Ahem, well you see, just as we were about to take leave, we came up here to get Tancred and-"

"It was so **cute**!" Mrs. Torsson squealed loudly, making everyone flinch. Elle's eye twitched. "You two were holding each other in your sleep and, well the Lord of the Rings sound effects ruined it a bit, but," she sighed. "We just couldn't bring ourselves to wake you up."

"More like you didn't let us," Mr. Torsson mumbled, but he didn't deny it.

The two thirteen year olds were blushing horribly, looking away from each other. Tancred coughed nervously. "Err.."

Mr. Newburt, being the wonderful parent he was, noticed the awkwardness of the moment. He laughed loudly, catching everyone's attention. He winked at Elle's thankful expression, although it looked somewhat murderous, since she was probably still in a rage at him for leaving her in the boy's arms. "Who wants breakfast? I just have to make some pancakes, eh?"

Elle's anger faded instantly, her head snapping up so fast it should have hurt. Oddly enough, she made no indication that it had. "Pancakes? No way!" She jumped up from her bed and skidded towards the door. "Well? Come on."

Tancred looked at her weirdly. "What's the big deal about pancakes?" He asked confused.

The girl gasped, then glared at him. "Sorry, Mr. Invading Girl's Privacy." Tancred's right eye twitched. "Maybe I just think pancakes are the greatest food every next to spaghetti and cookies."

He huffed. "Well, sorry Ms. Prissy, maybe I just don't worship the pancake god."

Elle's glare intensified, staring straight into his cool blue eyes. "Well-"

Mrs. Torsson sighed. "It was so much better when you two were asleep."

That shut them up.

* * *

As it turned out, Tancred soon began to worship the pancake god too. He scowled at Elle's giant pile of pancakes and bit into his own. Instantly his eyes sparked. He let out a strangled gasp, then flushed at Elle's smug smirk. Apparently he wasn't the only Torsson who thought they were good.

"Oh, my! Richie, these are delicious!" His mother exclaimed, swooning. "How could you possibly have made these?"

Mr. Newburt's eyes twinkled, a gesture Tancred couldn't have failed to recognize as Elle's look of mischief. He grabbed a few more of the fluffy delights and shoved them onto his plate. "Well, this," the father swept his hands over his pile of breakfast, "this is a secret recipe. Fairly simple, but it's also fairly secret."

Mr. Torsson laughed, the blast of it nearly toppling the giant pile of pancakes Tancred and Elle quickly stacked onto their plates. "Honey," he chuckled at his wife's persistent expression. "I think the kind man wants to keep the secret, too."

Mrs. Torsson pouted, but refrained from saying anything. It was quite for a few minutes before Elle was about to speak. She opened her mouth but someone interrupted her. "Elle, don't talk with your mouth full." Her father said sharply.

"Sorry Dad," She smiled sheepishly, after swallowing the large lump in her mouth. Then she turned to Tancred. "Hey, Tancie?"

Tancred rolled his eyes, stuffing another piece of the pancakes into his mouth. "What?"

"I don't know." She grinned at his glare, which would've been scarier if he didn't have a pancake sticking out of his mouth. "I'm just really bored."

He grunted. "Fine, go do something."

"I can't," she frowned, finishing her last pancake. "I have to be a good hostess, whatever that means, so I can't do anything without you."

He sighed, biting into the last one. "Fine. Happy?"

Elle grinned. "Yes. Very." She grabbed his arm, yanking him out of his chair, and ran up stairs. He stumbled behind her.

Mr. Newburt sighed, seeing the tiny stack of pancakes on the table. "I made so many…"

* * *

"Hold on," Elle said, walking to her closet.

"Why?" He asked, plopping onto her bed.

She rolled her eyes, though he couldn't see it since her head was currently facing her racks of clothes. "I don't think I'd like to wear this thing for very long." She swept her hand over her dress, not even looking back.

Tancred blushed. "Oh, right."

She turned around. "Hey, do you need anything?"

He blinked. "Um…" He eyed the uncomfortable shirt he was wearing. "I guess but I doubt you'd have anything that would fit me."

She shrugged, diving back into her closet. "I think I do." She rustled through her shirts. "Here."

Tancred caught the bundle of clothes effortlessly. He eyed them critically. "Take That?" He asked, amused.

"Yes, is there something wrong with them?" She asked, sharply.

He forced back a grin. "No, nothing at all. But isn't this a girl's shirt?" He frowned as it said 'I love Jason Orange' scribbled in her handwriting on a corner.

She grinned. "Maybe. But it's the biggest I have. It'll probably just be a bit tight, nothing bad."

Then he looked at the jeans. "And why do you have guy jeans?"

She shrugged. "That's a **great** question." She paused, thinking. "Err, you could use the bathroom across the hall."

"Thanks." He called out, walking to it. A few minutes later, he walked back into the room, wearing the navy shirt. "Do you have any other shirts?" He asked, picking at the shirt that clung to him, not uncomfortable but showing pretty much every aspect of his 13 year old chest.

She laughed. "No, and it looks fine. You're hair looks different though," She winked at him.

"It feels weird down. You **sure** you don't have gel?"

She laughed. "Positive. It looks fine down. How about me?"

He blushed a little bit, eyeing her clothes. She wore a shirt like his, the only difference was the band's logo was in black instead of gold, and regular jeans. "Nice." He commented.

She grinned. "Good. Let's go."

Tancred looked up, confused. "Where?"

Elle sighed. "Tancie, dearie, look. Your parents and my dad are most likely going to be talking for a while, so this is the **perfect** time to sneak out and go into town, since my house is no fun."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, did you say sneak out?"

"Okay, fine. I meant that as a joke. I'll ask, alright?"

He shrugged, walking out the door. He looked over his shoulder. "Coming?"

* * *

"Don't talk to people who try to sell you stuff."

"Yes, I know Dad."

"And don't talk to that one policeman who always yells at little kids."

"Right, okay."

"And-"

"Dad!" Elle groaned. "Can I go?"

He sighed, patting her shoulder. "Just looking out for you, love."

Tancred looked at his parents. "I can go too, right?"

Mr. Torsson shrugged. "Don't do anything stupid. And don't break anything important."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay Dad."

Elle grinned, linking arms with him. Tancred's face turned a faint pink. "Let's get out of here." She sang, skipping (and dragging the poor blonde) out the door. "BYE!"

A chorus of farewell's answered her as she closed the doors. Tancred straightened himself out, pulling his arm back. "So where are we going?"

Elle slowed, thinking. "I don't know. How about…"

Tancred followed her lead. "Let's go visit Sander."

She 'hmmm'ed. "Do you know how to get to his house?"

He grinned. "I think so."

* * *

"Tancred."

"Yes, Elle?"

"Are you **sure** we aren't lost?"

He looked around him, trying to find a excuse. "Err.. Yes. We are not lost, we simply have no idea where we are."

She groaned in frustration. "Oh, yeah, real smooth genius. Cause everyone knows that you aren't lost when you have no clue as to your location."

Tancred frowned. "Okay, so maybe we are a little bit out of place. But…"

She sighed. "Let's just walk until we find something familiar."

And so they walked, all around the town. It was, thankfully, a perfect day, and people were bustling all around the streets. They had been walking from her house, Tancred pointing out directions, and somehow ended in some old-styled area, where there were shops set up everywhere and people bustling by. Tancred had tried to get the girl to calm down, but she kept fussing about being in "unfamiliar territory."

"Hey, what's that?" Elle said, pointing at a road nearby.

He looked up, taking a break from counting cracks on the pavement. "What?"

"It's called The Fortasm. Wait, no sorry, The Fortune."

Tancred squinted, staring at the small shop. "How did you mess that up?" She glared at him and he sighed. "I don't know."

"Let's go in then." She suggested, though she didn't wait for him to answer. Elle grabbed his arm and dragged him into the shop. "**Wow**."

He looked around the shop, and couldn't help but admit it was pretty 'wow' material. The walls were lined with shelves holding jewels and little trinkets that sparkled curiously. There were bookshelves set back to them too, each one lined with ancient looking books. In the center of the dark room were one person couches arranged in a circle around a dark table. It was awfully spooky, though Tancred would never admit it, but interesting nonetheless. "This is weird." He whispered, not wanting to destroy the silence.

"Define weird. Cause I'm thinking more of the lines of **friggen creepy**." Elle answered, hushed.

"Hello, m'dears." A voice called out from the corner of the room. The two nearly jumped at the sound, not seeing anyone in the room. "I am Madam Fortune." The woman stepped into the light, surprising them. She was old, with silver hair and wrinkles scattered over her forehead. She had deeply tanned skin, but it shined as if it were glossy. The lady was dressed in a purple robe and her hair had beads in it. She gazed at them. "What can I do for you?"

Elle spoke up first. "Um, sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but uh….we were just looking around. We should go now," she finished, clutching his arm tightly.

Tancred tried not to think about that fact, desperately trying to force down the blush that rose up his face. "Yeah." He added, lamely.

Madam Fortune's eyes twinkled. "Oh, don't leave yet. I haven't even told a fortune for you yet."

The brunette gulped. "Err, we don't have any money, and my dad's waiting for me, so I kind of have to get going soon," She inched towards the door, pulling Tancred with her.

"Oh, no I'll do it for free!" the fortune teller answered. "It would be a pleasure. You, young lady seem to have such an interesting aura. I can tell you will be destined for greatness." Her gaze slid over to Tancred. "And I can say the same for you young man."

_Great, she found her weak point. _Tancred cursed. _Flattery._

Elle's ears perked up. "Well, it can't hurt." She muttered, completely contradicting her earlier statements.

"Elle," the blonde started. "We kind of have to meet your dad remember."

She frowned. "Yeah…"

The madam smiled. "It'll be quick."

That brought Elle to the couches. Tancred groaned in his mind, following her. "This is a horrible idea." He muttered under his breath.

_Tanc, just think of it that you may earn some information about your non-existent love life. _George said, trying to brighten his mood.

_Shut up George. _He answered.

_Well, maybe she might like you, you never know. _His conscious frowned.

_But…The lady's probably a fake._

_Keep thinking that then._

"Good," Madam Fortune purred. "No just sit on that chair right there." Elle nodded, doing as she said. "Well, let me see." She grabbed Elle's palm and a faint light flashed around it. Tancred stumbled back. _What the hell?_

_I told you she wasn't. _George taunted.

The lady's eyes flashed and a grin appeared on her face. Elle caught her breath, not noticing Tancred do the same. "Yes, yes. **Very** interesting indeed."

Elle frowned. "So what's up?"

She chuckled. "Well, child, I can tell you one thing's for sure. The young man you like has already fallen head over heels."

Elle flushed, but didn't do anything else. _Well, I already knew he liked me, so that's nothing new. _

Tancred felt a small flame of jealousy spark. _I wonder who that is. I gotta know. _

The lady sighed. "Yes, well, it also says you will fight against something powerful, something evil." Both kids thought the same thing; _Bloors_. "I have also foreseen that you will come to a difficult path in you're life, something bad will happen either way. Do not ask what, I don't know," She added, seeing the girl about to protest. "Hmm…" A look of concentration flickered over the old woman's face. "It also seems that you will conquer your enemies though, either path you chose."

The fortune teller sat back. Elle's eyebrows furrowed. "That's it?"

The woman chuckled. "Yes, well, it's not a lot but I hope it helped."

Elle was about to protest when Tancred grabbed her arm, clearing his throat. "Well, I think your dad's going to be worried about us." He dragged her up and pulled her to the door. "Thanks lady!" He called as he walked out.

Elle stumbled behind him , catching herself as the stepped out the door. "Hey." She said glaring.

He smiled sheepishly. "The place is creepy. Now come on."

She sighed and started walking beside him. "Fine, kill joy."

Tancred smiled and nudged her ribs. "Maybe." Then he winked. "So who's this mysterious guy, hmm?"

Elle flushed a startling shade of red. "What? Oh…right…uh…some guy...that…that.."

He raised an eyebrow. "That?"

"That…you **don't** know." She finished. _I hope that worked. _

Tancred tried not to be disappointed. "Oh. Cool." He looked away. _Duh, of course it isn't you stupid. I can't be the only one who likes her. Plus I'm only head over stomach. Like I told Sander._

_You really are an idiot sometimes, aren't you? _George snorted.

Elle broke the awkward silence. "Hey, that looks like Charlie!" She pointed at a mop of black hair.

Tancred laughed. "Who else could it be?"

The girl grinned at him. "Race you!" She shouted already running.

"Hey!" He ran after her, nearly knocking over some guy. They ran, Elle being in the lead, after the boy-who-could-only-be-Charlie, chuckling.

"WATCH OUT!" Elle yelled, and Charlie turned around. He dodged just in time, seeing Elle run by him and nearly crash into the glass display window, but instead she tripped on the pavement. Tancred jogged into a stop nearby.

"Hey Charlie." He grinned at the wide-eyed boy. "Oh," Tancred tapped his shoulder. "I believe I win."

Elle scowled, brushing off dirt. "Ugh." She straightened, trying to look important. "Madam Newburt would like to tell Mister Torsson that it is rude to rub things in people's faces and that she demands a rematch since Mister Torsson pushed her."

Tancred smirked. "And Mister Torsson would like to remind Madam Newburt that she is acting childish and being a **sore loser **as he was only pointing out the truth."

"Well, Madam Newburt would like to-"

"Well, Mister Bone would like to remind Madam Newburt and Mister Torsson that he happens to be standing right here, not getting what is going on." Charlie cut int.

Elle grinned, brushing hair out of her eyes. "Well, Mister Bone, fancy seeing you here." She laughed. "Hello."

Charlie grinned. "Hey."

Tancred blew a fringe of hair out of his face. "Hello Charlie. How's life?"

Charlie looked at Tancred. "Why's your hair down?"

Elle waved of the question. "Long story short: Fussy parents, suits and dresses, unintentional sleepovers, and no gel."

The raven haired boy looked confused. "What?"

"Never mind." Tancred said. "So what brings you here, Charlie?"

He shrugged. "Nothing really, just out to get stuff for Masie." He lifted the groceries in hands to make a point. "What about you two? Well, you do live only a couple blocks down, so it's not that surprising actually."

"What?" the blonde asked dumbly, looking at the street. "King's Street?" Oh…" A look of realization crossed his face. "No wonder this looks familiar."

Elle scowled. "Are you serious? We've been walking for ages and you didn't even **realize **that?"

"Well, sorry, I was to busy beating you at a race."

"What? Well-"

"Ahem." Charlie interrupted, before a fight started.

"Sorry Char." She smiled apologetically.

"S'okay. But I gotta go now cause there is milk in these bags so I'll catch you guys later."

"Oh, alright." Tancred grinned, waving at Charlie as he left. He turned to Elle. "So Madam Newburt, would you like to see Mister Sage? I promise I won't get lost this time."

* * *

"Why were you two wearing messed up band shirts, muddy pants, and crazy hairstyles on **my front yard?**" Lysander asked calmly as a clean Tancred and Elle walked into his room.

Elle grinned. "Nice house Sandie. Very original. A tad bit scary though. So much white everywhere."

"Thanks, I think, now care to answer my question?"

Tancred smiled. "Well, you see, we were crossing the park to get to your house from King's Street when it started raining." Lysander rose an eyebrow disbelieving. "Okay, so maybe I made it rain on Elle since she was being annoying-"

"I was not!" The girl said, swatting at the blonde's shoulder. "You messed up my hair so I threw water at you!"

"Well, sorry if I didn't know your hair wasn't meant to be touched by my **unworthy fingers**."

"Well, you know you're just jealous that my hair is-"

"Guys." The African boy interrupted. "So basically, you started a water fight. And then you got mud all over you from falling in the dirt-that-became-mud right?" They nodded their heads. "Alright. Now clean up the dirt you got on the tiles."

Tancred was about to protest when Elle nudge his ribs. "Of course Sandie darling. Now may I ask why you look so fancy shamancy?"

He grinned. "Lauren."

The blonde's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "You have a date and you didn't tell me? My, my Mister Sage. I am **hurt**. Stabbed. Bleeding internally."

"This is what I mean by 'you two hang out too much'" Lysander grinned satisfied as they both looked away, huffing. "But now that you bring it up, I have to tell you guys this blunt and simple. You gotta go, because I have a date and you two are not going to be there."

Elle pouted. "Aww, but Saaaannnndddiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee! I haven't met Lauren yet!"

Sighing, the boy picked up his wallet and pulled a picture from it. "That's her. Satisfied?"

"Aww…You keep her picture in your wallet. How adorable." She cooed, making the boy shake his head in wonder- wonder of why he still hung out with her. Elle grabbed the picture and jumped on a couch to look at it. "Hey wait." Her brow creased.

"Yeah?" Both boys asked.

"I know Lauren. She's-"

_Ding dong._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Yes, I left with a little cliffy. Haha…I love Take That. Great Band. 3 Well, I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear me on a rambling rampage, so good bye Madams and Misers!

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count: 4274 (HOLY COW!)


	18. Squirrels and Mrs T

So, I was exploring my page when I found this handy little application where you can see how many hits your story has gotten. And I was so surprised when I saw that I had over **700**! Oh emm gee! Woohoo! Yes! I love you readers. I have an announcement though. Do you remember that Fidelio story I kinda-sorta promised to make? Well, it's being postponed. Again. I apologize. But it's being put on hold for everyone's favorite floppy-haired clothes physic! Or…maybe not everyone's favorite, but what other ones do you know? O.o So basically my brain struck me with a wonderful Gabriel story, and now I have to write the thing else George (who is actually the name of **MY** conscious thank you. I don't have enough imagination to give Tancred a completely unfamiliar idea.) will kill me for sure… Anywho, off we go.** I don't own any of the CotRK series. :]**

_Blah- thinking or dream or flashback or sounds_

**Blah- Disclaimer or stressed words **

Blah- writing

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"….And then here was this big bang and I got detention for 'exploding the chemistry…"

Both boys sighed simultaneously , looking at the two animatedly chatting girls. Lysander rolled his eyes over to Tancred, who sat next to him, slouched in the brown leather couch. He nudged him in the ribs. "You know, this is kind of ruining my date?"

Tancred cracked a smile, his expression almost laughing, but Elle who had ultra-super-awesome hearing, or maybe it was just that she was sitting right next to the boys, frowned. "What's wrong?" Lauren asked from next to her.

"Uh…" Elle smiled, thinking of something clever to say. "Well, I should think you'd like to be going with your man no?"

The other girl blushed. "Shut up!" She laughed, lightly hitting her friend's shoulder. "But you're right. So I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," The element user grinned, winking at her. "And I'll make sure to drag Tancred off with me. Then you two can have a little **privacy**, eh? Wink wink. Nudge nudge."

"Ooooh Tancred hmm?" Lauren winked, ignoring the last comment and successfully making Elle blush. She sputtered incoherently. "Alright, just teasing. Get outta here."

She grinned and got up, dusting the non-existent dust from her jeans. Clearing her throat, Elle turned to Lysander. She winked at him. "Alright, I think I'm going to head out now, so you can enjoy a little sno-" a punch in the gut interrupted her. She grabbed her stomach, wincing, tuning for a second to glare at Lauren who smiled a little too innocently. "Ow! But okay. Sorry. A little date with your girly friend Sandie. I'll make sure to drag that little blondie next to you with me too okay?"

Tancred frowned, crossing his arms defiantly. "I am not little."

Lysander winked at her. "Right. **Please** be sure to take the little blondie with you. I don't think I would be able to take it if the little blondie stuck around a bit more."

The brunette nodded, looking fakely serious. "See Tancie? Even Sandie says you're little!" She laughed at his pout, then ruffled his hair. He swatted her hand away grumpily. "Kidding. Let's go."

"Help me up?" Tancred answered, waving his arm around. Elle sighed and grabbed it, pulling his weight with a grunt. He smiled what he felt was charmingly. "Thanks. Bye Sander."

The two walked out, Tancred leading, before Elle remembered something. She got a few steps out the door before she gasped and ran back to the house, Tancred in tow. She stuck her head in through the half open entrance and called out. "Sander? Hope you don't mind but I **forgot** to clean up the mud!" After hearing a rather loud frustrated groan from Lysander, she laughed and ran out the house, dragging Tancred with her.

* * *

"So now we're back where we started." Elle sighed, kicking at the dirt. "This is just great. Spiffing. **Wonderful**."

"Hey, question. Just out of curiosity, how do you know Lauren?"

She looked up at the blonde. "I thought you would've figured that out by now." From a confused look from Tancred, she continued. "Well, we went to school together, and she was pretty much my only friend."

"Sorry, **only **friend?" He raised his eyebrows, looking down at her. She averted her eyes. "If I say so myself, you don't have any problem making friends with-"

"You and Lysander and Olivia and Emma and Charlie and 'Delio and Gabe and Billy? Am I forgetting anyone?" She sighed dejectedly. Then she laughed and smiled, but it was bittersweet. She looked back up at him. "Yeah, you could say that. I'd tell you but then it might ruin our day which has turned out oh-so wonderfully so-"

"So?" Tancred snorted, looking at her disbelieving. "Just tell me will you?"

Elle punched his arm, hitting the top of his shoulder. "You know if I didn't love you so much I'd hurt you for saying that." They both blushed softly, neither noticing it. "Well," She sighed again and sat on a bench on the pavement. "Where do I start? Um…well actually how do you start a story like this?"

Tancred shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like I've ever really had to go up to someone and say 'hey mate, let's chat about your past!'." She laughed softly. "But I guess if I did, which might be really awkward, I'd say 'Hey mate, what do you mean **only** friend?' Good enough?"

"I suppose." He punched her arm. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Well, I guess I'd have to ask you this first. Well, actually I probably don't cause, well, you know, no offence or anything but you probably feel it anyways. You know when you walk somewhere where people know you're endowment and they stare at you like you're the walking version of a plague or something really stupid like that?"

"You know, if I didn't love you so much I'd hurt you for saying that," he frowned, mocking her earlier statement.

She blushed slightly but put on a playful grin anyways. "Oh, and do you love me Mister Torsson?"

"No. You wish." He snorted, looking away as to not give himself away.

"Alright," Elle said passively. She turned, holing up her knees against her chest on the bench, her back to Tancred. She laid her head back and set it on his shoulder, making him blush more. "Anyways, that was basically what happened at my old school. See, I used to use my powers a lot, cause it was fun. But then, about 6 years ago, I **'accidentally'**" she made air quotes to highlight the words, "set a small fire to some girls hair because she made fun of my old friend, I think his name was Jake, who moved to like Alaska or something when I was 9 so I don't know him anymore. Well, that's besides the point, so anyways. It was like, really tiny and I put it out after it burned of about half of her ugly, greasy thing she dared to call hair but you know how kids get." He rolled his eyes. "What?" She asked sharply.

"Nothing, nothing." Tancred answered. "Just setting a girl's head on fire when you were- what maybe eight?- is defiantly not a little thing. If you get me."

She huffed. "Fine. But anywho, the girl went all psycho and lucky me she was little Ms. Popular and started spreading rumors about me being 'some freaky evil lady who was going to kill everyone.' Not exactly the best reputation around."

"They believed that?" He nearly shouted in surprise. He shifted so his back was to hers, his legs dangling of the bench. "You were an eight-"

"-year old, little smarty-pants, anti-social girl." Elle grinned. "I was a cool little eight year old if I say so myself, but I don't really get a say in what delusional little-ms-priss-priss eight year olds think. The girl was **super** popular, and her daddy was principal so who wouldn't listen to her. So then everyone pretty much shyed away from me and it got worse when I did the same thing about 2 years ago, except to some girl who messed up my backpack. I hate her." She scowled. "So then they got more ridiculous and, what do you know they all suddenly grew a small thing of a backbone and started doing stuff. 'Cept it was stuff like making fun of me and all but oh well-"

"Oh well? What do you mean oh well?"

Elle shrugged. "It wasn't **that** bad. Nothing a little yelling at them couldn't fix." She felt herself smile a little to cover up the little lie. Tancred didn't need to know that. "Anyways, then Lauren, being the totally awesome person she is, grew a real backbone, not the twisted kind those other kids **thought** they had, and one day, walked over to my lunch table, plopped down, and said 'What's up?' And voila. The end. Well, actually I was sent to Bloor's after my dad got a letter, and then the end but you get my drift. Well, actually that's not the end is it?" She paused to ponder it. "Well then, I'll just say 'and that's how we got here.' That should be right."

Tancred leaned back, making her head roll dangerously close to his, and slouched. "Uh-huh. Man, that sucks. I can't say I've ever had that; Sander's been with me since I was in diapers, or at least close to then."

She laughed then jumped up, making him fall onto the bench from losing the weight behind him. His back hit it with a thump. "Hey, why are we sitting here talking about depressing things when we have this wonderful afternoon which I am sure my personal weatherman here didn't have anything to do with?" Elle grinned, lopsided like always, and grabbed his arm to pull it up. "Let's go off and do something stupid."

Tancred rose, laughing. "Alright then, something stupid it is."

* * *

"Elle, did you make Tancred do something stupid with you?"

"No, of course not dad!" Elle said, mock-mortified. "And why do you ask?"

Mr. Newburt looked disapprovingly, or at least he tried to look that, at his daughter. "Because Ms. Hernandez, the nice baker she is, called to tell me you bought twenty-"

"It was actually only eighteen." She interrupted.

"And you aren't denying it! Why would you need eighteen pies?"

Tancred sniggered, earning a slap to the back of his head from his mother. "You were part of this too, young man." She voiced stiffly. He frowned and rubbed the spot.

"Well, the park looked so lonely and it needed some squirrels!" Elle answered.

"Squirrels do not eat pie." Mr. Newburt retorted, though he looked ready to laugh.

"Yes, apparently they do." She grinned. "Attracted a mighty big load of those little critters I did!"

"**We**." Tancred chipped in. "I believe I got my share of scratches from that rabid one when I ate a piece of his pie." He got another slap.

Mr. Torsson grinned, almost about to laugh, then stopped from a glance from his wife. "Err…that's not something to be proud of son." He said, trying to look serious.

"Yeah I saw. You know, I think that fat one ate like 3 of them. **Seriously**," She said, turning to Tancred.

That broke it. "Tim! Richie!" Mrs. Torsson exclaimed at their sudden bursts of laughter. The men fell into their armchairs supporting each other like life depended on it. "This is not funny! They got hurt!"

"Ma'am, if I may say, none of them are deep, and I've already poured water all over us so they wouldn't get infected." Elle chimed, hoping it helped.

"And I made sure they didn't bite me. Squirrels and rabies are like cookies…and milk. Just not as cool." Tancred added.

Mrs. Torsson frowned. After a moment, she sighed. "Fine, you're not wounded badly, so I'll let this slide. Just, go wash up or whatever." She smiled softly. "And I think we shout head out soon."

Tancred sighed, but nodded. "I'll be downstairs in ten."

"Squirrels are damn scary." Elle grinned, pulling of her shoes. They flew into the wall after a particularly loud grunt. "I cannot believe they ate all eighteen pies."

"Actually they didn't." Tancred mumbled. She looked at him sharply. "Well, I was hungry!"

She put on a half-hearted glare then laughed. "That's cool. I ate some myself." She held up her fingers: two.

Tancred 'hmm'ed as he picked up his old clothes. "Hey, you want your clothes back?" He picked at the still tight shirt. "I'd be glad to give them."

Elle looked back at him. "Err, well you can't exactly go home naked, so just give them back later." She laughed at his expression. "Unless you want to keep them, but I don't really think you'd like to have a shirt that says I love Jason Orange."

He nodded then fished up his dress shirt. "Right. Well, I should head down now." He straightened and looked to the door.

"Yep." She followed him through it.

They descended down the staircase, an awkward silence over them. Tancred sighed, mentally. _And I didn't even tell her anything. __**Nothing.**_

_I know. And you had the whole weekend. _He could practically feel George shaking his head in disappointment. _And I thought you had some guts. _Tancred twitched.

Elle let out a poof of air from the corner of her mouth as they reached the bottom. "Elle! Help me walk the Torssons to their car!" Her father's booming voice shouted. She sighed, walking through the front door.

Tancred grinned stopping before the backseat door. "Well, err…Bye?"

She smiled back, rubbing her head in embarrassment. She looked at her father chatting at the front seat window with his dad. "Yep. I guess. So, see you Monday?"

He laughed. "Defiantly." Before he could stop himself, he pulled the unsuspecting girl into a hug, although one much more gentle than after he had found her after she was 'kidnapped.' He blushed suddenly, trying desperately to force down those damn butterflies fluttering around his stomach. He felt her relax, and pat his back.

Elle pulled away, her face red. "Well, yeah. Bye!" She grinned cheerfully.

"Yeah." He agreed, hopping into the car. _Why did I do that?_

_Why did he do that? _Elle wondered blushing still. _I hate those stupid butterflies. _She turned around to the sound of laughter. Mrs. Torsson stood behind her, an odd twinkle in her eyes. Elle shifted uncomfortable. "Um, good bye Mrs. T."

She pulled Elle into an embrace, hugging her tightly. "Good bye dear." Then, leaning closer into the girl's ear, Mrs. Torsson whispered. "I won't tell him deary, don't worry!" She giggled, letting go of the mortified girl.

As they drove off, Elle waved, flushing, and wondering when she would have to face his mother again. _Forget squirrels, Mrs. Torsson is damn scary enough._

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Mmm…Done with the chapter! :D Yay! Haha, I think Microsoft is mad at me; I made up like 5 words. :P Now, since I have relatively nothing else to say, I'm going to let you go so I can be whisked away into my Gabriel story! Buh-Bye!

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count: 2547


	19. I Need a Plan

So I have to warn you, I may not upload very much for a while. To you, my dear readers, I apologize. But I'll give you the reasons why of course. Well, basically, my uncle's having this wedding and my family has to put some last minute touches to everything, so We're going to be busy with that. Then, we're actually going to have the wedding where I will have to put up with a million 'I am so happy for your uncle' s. Arg… Well, anywho, I ought to start so I can get as many of these up as I can. . **I don't own the CotRK series, that all belongs to Nimmo. **J

_Blah- thinking or dream or flashback or sounds_

**Blah- Disclaimer or stressed words **

Blah- writing

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh bugger," Charlie groaned as he rolled out of his sheets. "I hate Mondays. I hate Bloor's. And I hate whatever idiot invented the alarm clock." He glared disdainfully at the lump of metal on his nightstand. "Stupid thing don't even work."

He yawned loudly, standing up. "Well, at least I get to see everyone." He muttered softly to the white moth fluttering by his bed. It glowed as if to agree, then stayed put as Charlie prepared for the long week ahead of him. Absently, he wondered what his parents were doing on their whale watching journey, out in the sea. He smiled faintly, as he readied his trunk.

"Charlie!" Maisie's voice shouted. "Charlie, dear, the bus is here!" She chuckled at the rhyme.

"Coming!" He yelled back, his arms moving frantically to stuff all his clothes into the trunk. "Just a minute." He made a hurried grab for his wrinkled cape, shoved into a tight position in one of his drawers, and threw it on. Charlie ran through his door, down the staircase awkwardly, lugging the heavy case behind him while using his free hand to flatten his hair, or at least attempt to. "Bye Maisie! Uncle Paton!" He stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth and ran out the door.

Maisie ran outside just as he stepped onto the bus. "Charlie! You forgot your…" She laughed as the bus rode away. "Well, I suppose Paton will have to drop it of later then." She chuckled as she tucked the bundle of underwear in her apron.

* * *

"Livvy!" Elle squealed, running into her friend's waiting arms. "It's been far too long!"

Olivia Vertigo sighed dramatically. "Yes, my dear friend, I know. My time, the eternity without you has been purely agonizing! Oh my dear Elle, never leave me again!"

Tancred stepped of the bus, hair cackling with electricity, with Lysander in tow. "It's been like, three days. Explain to me when it was an eternity again?"

Emma sighed from the side. She threw her pale blonde hair over her shoulder, shrugging. "I really don't know. But I have a really good feeling that I shouldn't be to thrilled to ask."

The blue music bus pulled up, stopping directly behind the green art one. A bustle of blue caped children ran out as soon as the doors opened, quickly blending into the crowd. Gabriel, one of the last few who didn't run out, stumbled, tripping over the last step, and nearly falling. Then Charlie, who was talking animatedly with Fidelio as he walked, fell over the physic, and promptly made both of them tumble over. They landed sprawled out on the pavement, dazed. Fidelio just laughed, looking at the two very flushed boys, until Billy accidentally bumped him from behind and he fell onto of Charlie with a rather loud 'oomph!'

"Now that," Elle said, pointing her finger in a matter of fact manner, "was one really crazy way to start of the week. It could never get better."

The bird-girl ran over to the group, Olivia behind her. She ignored Billy's constant apologies, like everyone else. "Are you okay?" She asked frantically, pulling up Gabriel. As he grabbed her hand, both blushed. Elle raised her eyebrows, seeing the encounter.

Olivia helped the other two off the floor. "Hello Fido. Charlie." She hugged both, her electric blue hair shining between them.

The brunet girl was pretty sure she was the only one who caught Fidelio wink at a blushing Charlie, who scowled, until Lysander said something. "Was I the only one who just saw what I think I just saw?" He smiled, a mischievous little grin spread across his face.

Tancred and Elle nodded simultaneously. "I propose a new proposition to this three person council." The brunet voiced, straightening. "Since nothing weirder could possibly occur, we should use our magic fingers to get a couple couples to-get-her!" She pronounced the last word in syllables. The two boys only nodded.

Suddenly a black car came up behind them. The front window rolled down to reveal a man with extremely dark sunglasses resting n his long nose. He looked around, making his pitch black hair tumble over his head. Then he stepped out of the vehicle. "Cripeys, this guy is a friggen giant." Elle muttered under her breath.

"Not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here Mr. Yewbeam?" Tancred asked the man.

Mr. Yewbeam, who Elle remembered Charlie called 'Uncle Paton' looked at the blonde boy. "Hello Tancred, Lysander, and other girl. You must be…" His face scrunched up like he was trying to remember something. "I believe my nephew said it was Elle? I'm looking for Charlie. Have you seen him? He forgot his underpants." He held up a bundle of bleached tighty whiteys.

Elle burst out laughing. "This couldn't possibly get any-"

"Don't say that." The African hissed from the corner of his mouth. "You'll just make it weirder."

* * *

Manfred Bloor looked sharply at the younger boy in front of him, twitching in fear. "So, Joshua," he uttered, oddly soft. "I hear that it was your smart idea to lock the little cretin in Asa's old dugout. Is it true?"

Joshua cringed at the question, not noticing Dagbert, who stood by the door, snicker, then wince and grab at the giant bruise on his cheek. "Y-yeah it wa-was." He tried, unsuccessfully, not to stutter.

Manfred growled, literally. It was quite an odd sight. "I see. And it never occurred to you that you threw an **elementalist** in a cave of **dirt**? Didn't cross your mind one. Little. Bit?" With each word his hands, which were fiercely grabbing the desk, heated up, until there was a faint stench of burning wood in the air.

"No s-sir." Joshua swallowed. "I'm sorry sir." He looked up weekly.

"Well sorry isn't go-"

"Manfred Bloor! What are you doing to my son?!" Mrs. Tilpin screeched, her arms crossed accusingly.

He grumbled under his breathe. "Dammit, your son let go of our little weapon!" She stiffened, acknowledging the fact it was true. "Now how are we going to get her?"

It was quiet for a few moments. Manfred noticed his knuckles turning white from holding the desk to long, and let go, then scowled at the scorch marks on his once-shiny desk. Mrs. Tilpin twirled her hair in her fingers, a deep frown on her face as the dark witch thought. Dagbert spoke first. "Ahem." He cleared his throat, grinning evilly. "I think I might just have a plan."

* * *

"You know, this whole 'let's all sit by the magical tree of treeness and magicness and stare at nothingness because Billy said it'll be fun' thing is actually not a bucket of sunshine. I'd say more like a huge pile of rain water that sat in the mud so now it reeks." Elle sighed, for probably the billionth time that break. "I've been staring at that same stupid cloud for so long I think he thinks I'm checking him out or something."

Charlie yawned and closed his eyes. "I don't think you can really check out a cloud. If you do they'll probably start pouring rain all over you."

"Can rainwater be put into a pile? Or even be taken out of mud? Cause it would be mud anyway right?" Billy asked. He surprisingly, genuinely didn't know. It was rather sad,

The girl shrugged. "I don't care." She lazily rolled from her spot next to Tancred until she hit Emma's foot. "So guess what!" The blonde girl looked down at her, pausing from her drawing, which was again another bird. "Remember that hippo I had to make? That one that I asked you to help me with? Well, Mr. Nickels let it slide since I already have four detentions! Good thing I never did it, that would've been a waste."

Gabriel stared at her like she was insane. "Why do you look happy about that?"

She shrugged. "Well, Ols told me that, even though they make you stay on the school campus, or grounds or whatever they call them, you're still allowed to wander around the school as long as you don't get caught!"

"Wait," Fidelio intercepted. "If you get in trouble for getting caught, then aren't you not allowed to do that?"

"Does it matter?" Elle shrugged. "And I have our little-"

"I am **NOT** little!"

"-weatherman to keep me company so I'll be fine." She sighed again. "Where's Ols anyways?"

"She's a lead actress for the play. She's gotta review her lines and stuff like that." Charlie answered.

Elle's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Oh really now? And how would you know that? Care to explain M'lord Bone?"

He looked away, not exactly being able to hide his blush very well. "Master Bone has to say that he has no clue what you're saying madam."

Fidelio, being such a **great** friend he is, added to Elle's teasing. "But, M'lord Bone! Even as the incompetent vassal I play, You told me that y-"

"The vassal shouldn't say what the lord doesn't want to be said." Lysander interrupted smoothly at a frantic glance from his traveling friend. "And Mister Sage would also like to question what's up with the strange talking."

Tancred grinned. "Mister Torsson would like to add that he remembers talking like this but yesterday afternoon with Madam Newburt and Mister Bone."

"Mister Silk is confused." Gabriel announced in his soft as ever voice.

"Mister Raven agrees." Billy piped.

A bell rang that interrupted their conversation. Emma got up first, dusting of her green skirt. "And Madam Tolly would like to reply by saying that the madams' and misters' shouldn't risk being late." She left.

Elle got up next, dragging an unwilling storm brewer and African with her. "Ah, yes. The lady is right. So Mister Sage and Mister Torsson, shall we head out to see the magical room of English?"

Mr. Torsson straightened his shirt and stood as only gentlemen do. "Yes, I suppose we shall Madam Newburt."

The said girl grinned and linked arms with the boy. She turned away in time to not see him blush. "Coming Mister Sage?"

The boy waved her off. "No thank you. If it isn't offending to the Madam, I'd like to stay for a little bit."

Tancred and Elle looked at each other, blinked, then looked at their friend. Shrugging, they shook their heads and skipped off. Or at least, Elle skipped as Tancred speed walked to catch up.

Lysander sighed "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" He turned to Charlie, Billy, Fidelio, and Gabriel.

Fidelio nodded, looking at Lysander. "They're **infatuated **and they don't even know it. Reminds me of a couple of twits I know." He winked towards Charlie who looked dreamily towards the Drama department part of the castle and Gabriel who looked to the other side: art.

He hmmed in agreement. "I know who you mean." He smiled then. "And I think we should make a plan."

Billy looked lost. "Mister Raven is **still** confused."

* * *

"I hate running." She grumbled beside two other endowed. "It sucks as bad as my art."

Tancred grinned. "I never thought I'd see the day you'd admit that. The art part, I mean. I was wrong."

Lysander shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about. Running feels good."

Elle looked at the two boys like they were from another planet, and she told them that too. "I swear you guys are from Venus or something, cause you know all aliens are not in fact _**Mars**_-tians, they are _**Venus**_-tions. Who likes running?"

"I have no idea what you are babbling about. I can guarantee that if you ask some people, at least half will say yeah."

"I accept your challenge, Mr. Sage."

"I bet he's right." The blonde puffed out beside her.

"Would you like to place a wager?"

* * *

"I just lost some money." Tancred declared dumbly.

"That, good sir is an affirmative." Elle nodded in agreement, counting the stack of bills and coins. "And I just gained some."

Lysander shook his head as the two teenagers leaned on his desk. To Tancred he offered a sympathetic look. "I told you not to bet too much." The his eyes shifted to Elle glaring. She grinned back 'innocently'. "And it's not you're fault you lost. She only asked about ten people who all said something about hating running in her presence."

She blinked. "You said the terms were **anyone**."

He sighed. "Yes, now if you two wouldn't mind, I'd like to have my desk back to my self before Ms. Pierce comes by."

Elle shrugged and walked away. Tancred watched her for a moment before walking off. The African boy sighed. "Now I need to make a plan. Those two are hopeless."

Throughout the whole English period, Lysander focused on the construction of his no-so-evil plot. _So, it's obvious that she likes him, and I already know for a fact that he's head over heels. So now, all I need is a stroke of genius to get those together. _He stroked his chin deep in thought. Then he began sketching, not looking at what his hand was telling him to draw. In moments his hand was done moving to make the picture of whatever it drew. He moved his arm to see it. He drew a ball. _What the…A ball? How is that supposed to help? How am I going to even find a stupid ba….Ohhh. A ball._

He smiled to himself wickedly. _Oh, yes. This is perfect. It'll fix everyone else's relationship problems too._

* * *

"A ball?" Manfred looked at Dagbert skeptically. "How is hosting a **ball** going to help anybody?"

The drowner sighed. "I thought we went through with this already. When you have a ball, everything is chaotic so there will be the least amount of suspicion when the boy disappears. Then you use him to bait her here and either the whole 'Bone Crew' will show up and you can obliterate them or she'll come alone and you can blackmail her into helping you."

Manfred let a silence wash over them as he experimented with his pyrokinetic ability. So far, he knew he could burn things, and occasionally start a small fire or two, but that was all. He sniffed. It wasn't enough. If his power didn't get stronger, then losing his hypnosis power would have been a waste, even if it wasn't his choice. After a few uncomfortable- and he knew it was uncomfortable from his admirer's squirming- minutes, he spoke. "I suppose it may work. But are you absolutely sure of their…" He snarled, not wanting to say it. "Of their…"

"Feelings?" Dagbert supplied. The older man just nodded. A glint struck in his eyes. "Oh yeah. Definitely sure."

That day, posters went up around the school announcing the Spring Ball.

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Yeah, done with this chappie. So, err, nothing to say really. Just, have a nice day and well…Yeah, nothing to say.

R&R!

~tubs.


	20. I Don't Want to Talk About My Feelings!

I have good news! Well, for you anyways. My thing that was going to prevent me from writing for a while has been postponed until next week, Wednesday, so now I'll be able to write, and hopefully get finished with this thing. I highly doubt that though. Eheh…well anywho, here we go onto the next chapter of Untitled. **CotRK belongs to Jenny Nimmo, not me. Okay?**

_Blah- thinking or dream or flashback or sounds_

**Blah- Disclaimer or stressed words **

Blah- writing

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"The hell?"

Those were the first words that came from Elle that morning. She stared at the overly bright, and poorly painted, poster on the dorm room door. She cocked her head sideways, thoroughly confused. But doing that didn't change anything about the ugly piece of art. It was still the same: lame, hideous, and awfully scary. "What **is** this?"

Olivia's blue-haired head popped out from the doorway. "What is what?"

"This. Look at it." Elle grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her to stand in her position. "Isn't it…just bloody awful?"

"Are you two ready?" Emma's soft voice wafted over from in the room. "I think breakfast is going to start soon."

"Hey, hey Emma? Isn't this a bit…well, frankly I'd have to say absurd?"

The blonde girl walked out of the room, her fingers fiddling with the cuffs of her white button up. "What's absur-" She looked up at the door and stopped her words. "What is that thing? It's…It's…"

"That's what I asked." Elle voiced. "It dares call itself a poster? Gah! It should be ashamed."

"No it shouldn't," Olivia sang out, tying on her purple cape, with her secret sequins sown on. "And besides, I for one think that it's a rather great idea. Good for Bloor's. We definitely need something fun to do around here and the color isn't such a bad thing either. Although they could've done the posters a bit differently."

"Yeah. But…it's so…" Elle stammered, trying to find the right words.

"Unexpected?" Emma supplied, still staring in disbelief at the rectangular neon green and pink paper tacked to the door. "I'd say so."

"Yeah. Definitely unexpected." The elementalist tore her wide-as-dinner-plate eyes away from the poster to nod at her blonde friend.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Oh, quit being such spoil sports. It's only a dance. Well actually," She squinted at the poster. "It's a formal ball, but that's completely off the point."

"No it's not!" Elle shouted, fidgeting with her cape that refused to stay in place. "It's a formal ball. That means we gotta-"

* * *

"-Break out the fancy suits and dresses!" Tancred nearly yelled looking at the paper on the wall.

Lysander blinked. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you wore dresses Tanc." He looked at his friend with a particularly peculiar expression. "I mean, it's okay I suppose but…" He backed away from him slowly.

"I do **NOT** wear dresses." He rolled his eyes. "But you get my point. What are the Bloor's up to now? This is not something they'd usually do. And that's gotta mean trouble."

"Well, maybe Dr. Bloor took a happy pill." Tancred looked at him with a dead-panned face. "Okay, so this is a tad bit fishy. But it's perfect for you and you're non-existent love life."

The blonde groaned in protest, and annoyance. "Why do you **always** call it that?"

Lysander shrugged. "Well, how can I put this besides for 'sorry mate, you just aren't getting anywhere with E-"

"Getting anywhere with E?" Charlie's voice asked from behind them. The two practically jumped from their skins as they turned around. There stood Charlie, Billy, Fidelio, and Gabriel, all dressed in their blue capes, standing side by side. "Who's this 'E' you speak of?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Gabriel looked at them apprehensively. "It's not 'E'-mma is it?" He looked at Tancred hopefully.

Fidelio snickered. "And why would you be worried about that Gabe? Hmmm?" He pretended to look detective like, taking out an imaginary pen and paper.

The physic reddened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Right." The violinist rolled his eyes, and dropping the fake supplies. "And Charlie isn't infatuated with Oli-"

"Fidelio!" Charlie yelped, waving his hands frantically at his friend.

"Who's Oli?" Billy asked innocently, looking at Charlie confused.

"No one. That you know." Charlie stuttered.

"Oh, so then they go to Ben's school?" the albino questioned.

"Err…Yeah. You could say that." Then he turned back to Tancred. "So who's this E?"

Lysander smirked as his friend's face grew spots of red. He shook his head defiantly and crossed his arms, a way to say that he wouldn't say anything. Charlie sighed and looked at the summoner. "It's Elle."

"Sander!" Tancred shouted, getting looks from the passing people. He lowered his voice, but a wind whipped around him like mad. "What'd you do that for?" He looked at him accusingly.

"They asked," He shrugged. "And I'm sure that Charlie already knew anyways so it doesn't matter."

The wind died instantly. "What?" Tancred asked dumbly.

"Yeah, you don't hide it very well." Billy responded, rubbing the back of his head. "Even I noticed."

Tancred twitched. "No way? That bad?" He ignored Billy's protests that said it was insulting.

Gabriel nodded meekly. "It's that bad. Maybe worse, but I don't know. Don't even know why I asked if it was Emma, the answer was pretty obvious wasn't it?…" He began muttering to himself.

After a confirming nod from Charlie, Tancred sighed and slumped against the wall. "Dammit, I thought I had it all hidden away."

"Hey guys look!" Fidelio whimpered, looking up from observing the horrible poster. "This is really bad. Like, maddening. It's horrible. Dreadful. Not right. Aw-"

"Get on with it man!" Lysander whisper-yelled.

"It says you-"

* * *

"-have to bring a **date**?" Dagbert looked up from the paper to see Manfred's smug face. He was genuinely confused. "What does that help?"

Manfred grinned, which was a particularly scary sight. Though, Dagbert didn't even flinch, which was surprising. He threw out his arms, looking like he was going to either announce something really important or really pointless, or just preach about nonsense. "It's brilliant right?"

"I don't see how." the drowner said bluntly.

The head boy frowned, glaring at the other boy who ruined his mood. "Isn't it obvious?" He got no answer. "It just makes the chance of getting…" He looked like he was going to sick. Manfred grimaced, forcing the words out. "Getting…getting…gettingthosetwotogether." He retched, not liking the words that came from his mouth.

"Oh." Dagbert reply came. He was secretly bursting with laughter from his idol's expression, but it couldn't be seen in anything but his gleaming aquamarine eyes. "I guess it makes sense, but there's a problem with that."

Manfred frowned. "And how, pray tell, is my genius going to be ruined?"

Dagbert hesitated. "Well, it's just that…" He gulped, not wanting to say what he had to. "Well, you have to admit that the girl isn't ugly, rather the opposite." He made a face, as did Manfred, but neither denied it. "So she…" He snorted. "The girl probably has a **few **admirers. I know for a fact about a few, at least three people, who'd go for her. And one of them might get to her first."

The pyrokinetic frowned, realizing his mistake. "You mean to say that she might go with another boy? I thought she was…you know…"

The fish boy nodded. "Yeah, she does. But the thing is that knowing her, or at least how much I know about her, the girl won't be able to turn them down. It'll be to hard."

* * *

"**YOU HAVE TO BRING A DATE?!?" **Elle screeched. "What kind of **idiot** thought that up?"

Emma sighed, having previously gotten over the initial shock the poster's brought. "Elle it's not that bad. I'm sure that someone will ask you."

"I am a firm believer that Tancred will come around soon." Olivia piped in what she thought was helpful.

The brunette made a strange strangled sound of surprise(A/N: Try saying that 5 times fast!). "Wh- what are you talking about?" She scoffed, trying to look oblivious as to what her friend had said, despite the blush that dusted her cheeks. "That, m'dear. is **absurd**."

The blunette (A/N: Haha. Get it?) snorted, rolling her eyes. "Oh please, don't even try to deny it."

Emma was blushing a bit, but still nodded. "It's only a tad bit obvious."

Elle sputtered a bit, her mouth wide open. "A tad bit?" Olivia asked. She sniffed. "Please, it was pretty much written all over your forehead."

"Well, it's quite the same with you and- dare I say it?- Charlie Bone." She retaliated, gathering her wits.

The actress tripped over a step, nearly falling down the stairs. "What?" She gasped, flabbergasted. "Well…well…" She looked at Emma. "Well, it's not as bad as Em and Gabe!"

The blonde whimpered in surprise and embarrassment. "What? I assure you nothing is going on. And don't drag me into this!"

Both girls rolled their eyes. "Emma," Elle said calmly. "Tell me if this looks odd to you."

Olivia ran a few feet away and then promptly fell to the floor, her limbs tangled. Elle gasped, and put a hand to her mouth, then raced over to her. "Are you okay?!" She squealed in a too-high voice. She thrust out her hand.

"Ye-" the actress frowned, then deepened her voice, sounding more like a wanna-be macho man than Gabriel. "Uh, Yeah." She grabbed Elle's hand and expertly, both girls put on pretend blush at the contact. Emma watched mortified from the sidelines as Elle hoisted Olivia up. Brushing off her skirt, Olivia looked up. "So," She frowned again and cleared her throat. "So," she said in her regular voice. "Does that clear anything up?"

"And don't forget that Delio and Char were right there on the floor next to him." Elle chimed.

Emma hid her face in her hands, trying to cover the blush. "Okay," came her muffled reply. "Maybe." She pulled her hands away, blush still there but less prominent. "I think I'll head to the cafeteria now." She rushed away.

Elle sighed. "She's not mad now right? I really hope not."

Olivia waved her hands. "Nah, I think she's just embarrassed. She'll be chipper as can be by break." Then she turned a mischievous grin to her friend. "So you and Tanc?"

The elementalist's face turned cherry red. "Wha-" She laughed nervously. "I don-" She shoved her finger's in her ears, and ran away, singing. "DROPPING CONVERSATION! LA LA LA LA LAAAAAAAA!"

The actress smiled and raced after her.

* * *

"So are you going to ask her?" Lysander asked, plopping into his usual seat with the tray of cornflakes. "It's a rather fine idea."

"Shu dodent luk mug luk rat." He gulped, swallowing his cereal. "She doesn't like me like that."

The African boy raised his eyebrows. "I beg to differ. I'm sure she does."

"Yeah right. Elle's probably interested in some other guy…like Jason."

"**Jason**? Jason Richman?" Lysander asked bewildered. "That guy who she specifically said was a…what were the exact words. I believe they were 'that insufferable git who has a stick shoved up his rump'. So 'the insufferable git who has a stick shove up his rump' Jason?"

The blonde nodded meekly, his expression hidden as he looked down at his corn flakes. "Yeah, that Jason. Why not?"

He rolled his eyes. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"Yeah, but I heard girls poke fun at guys they like."

Lysander snorted. _She does that to you every day. _"Anything else?"

"Well," Tancred thought. "Well, he's a lot more better looking than me and he's popular and he actually has muscles and he's a model and….and he's normal."

"Are you serious?" the blonde nodded. "By gods, Tancred. She hate's the guy, isn't it obvious?" Seeing his friend about to protest, Lysander continued, tense in anger. "And I highly doubt she cares about that stuff. Especially that he's popular. If she cared if she were popular, she wouldn't be hanging out with us. She's cool enough to be called popular, not to mention she's not a sore sight either."

"But-" He frowned. "He's **normal**."

"So?"

"She shouldn't have to deal with my temper and lightning bolts that will appear out of nowhere!" He said animatedly, waving his hands in the air as if that expressed his point. "It's too…"

Lysander sighed, agitated. "Tancred, look. I don't know how to make it anymore obvious that she just doesn't like that guy. She practically hates Jason. She's probably wondering when you're going to rush over to her and ask her. But no. You're not willing to summon the guts to march over to wherever she is and just say 'go with me to the dance yeah?' or something- anything- that's considered asking her out. So that's your problem. Figure it out for yourself. Now I'm going somewhere else while you wallow up in your own self-pity." With that, he emptied his bowl and walked out of the cafeteria.

Tancred groaned, running his fingers through his hair. _Oh this is just splendid. Now Sander's mad at me and I don't know if Elle will go with me. _

_And don't forget the fact that you won't even ask her cause she likes Jason Richman. _George sneered sarcastically.

_Oh? And what's got you in a fit? _Tancred asked his conscious.

"You know he's right, right?" A soft voice asked from behind him.

Startled, Tancred whipped around to face the person. Emma, smiled softly at him before sitting where Lysander's body had previous inhabited. She grabbed her spoon and ate some cereal before turning back to him. "She does like you, whether you're willing to admit it or not."

He snorted, turning away. "Were you listening to us?"

She flushed. "I heard about half of it. Starting from Elle's popularity."

"Well," He tried to think of something to argue against it. "Well, how would **you** know?"

"She told me. Sort of. She got wind about the date thing and Olivia was pretty sure that you were going to ask her." She grinned. "She denied it, of course, but it's an obvious lie. So are you going to?"

Tancred scoffed. "She might have been blushing for some other reason. Like maybe she was embarrassed that Liv might say that or something."

"She was." Emma said quietly.

It was silent for a short time after that. Then: "Are you absolutely sure?"

Emma smiled into her spoon, just as she was about to take a bite. She ate a few more spoonfuls, finishing her food. Then she got up. But before she left, she looked over her shoulder and answered him. "Positive."

Tancred grinned before turning back to his bowl, which hadn't been touched yet. He scooped some up and ate it, barely noting that it had a horrible soggy taste. _Oh, you listen to __**her **__but not Sander? _George came back, annoyed.

_Look, _the blonde said. _Like it or not, I just did. Did you ever think that Emma will have a better…what's the word…insight? Yeah. Emma's bound to have a better insight about Elle's crushes than you're idol- who remind me I have to make up with. _

_And why's that? Lysander is one of you're girlfriend's best friends. _

Tancred shrugged, or he thought he did since the whole conversation was in his head. _She's a girl. They always talk about their feelings. _

A crash sounded, making him snap out of his conversation. From there, with Olivia on her tail, Elle burst in screaming, "I DON"T WANT TO TALK ABOUT MY FEELINGS!"

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Okay, so I'm done with this chapter. I'm not particularly happy about it, since most of it is just dialogue. Meh. Whatever. Until next time!

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count: 2657 (I am aware that the previous one I didn't add this, but it was over two thousand words I swear!)


	21. Tancred's Plan: Stage One

Okay, so here we go onto the next chapter, but before we do I just want to add something. I have received some reviews asking me to get Tancred and Elle together. O-o I think I've made it somewhat obvious that those two are bound to get together sometime soon, so please don't review that anymore. I mean, I love reviews and I think it's fantastic that people so badly want those two to be together {warms my soul actually} but I'm not fond of seeing the same thing over and over, if you know what I mean. Ahem. Well, I suppose I should move on now. Here we go!

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Elle blinked. It was too silent; even with her hands covering her ears she should still hear the faint buzzing noise of students talking. The girl moved her fingers away from her eardrums cautiously, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, she blinked again, then looked up and around her.

Olivia snickered quietly in the background, watching as her friend's face slowly lit up, a pale tinge of blush that transformed into a wonderfully vibrant tomato red as she saw all the faces giving her amused, confused, or just awkward stares. She coughed a few times, out of nervousness, then gave a slightly strangled sound, like a groan almost. Rubbing the back of her head, a shy smile flinted across her lips as she gave a shaky laugh.

"Ahahah...err…nothing to see here, just running by yelling. You know. Well err…" She gave a pleading glance to Olivia who sighed and nodded, giving in.

"Right!" The actress announced, straightening as she walked over to stand by her friend. "Nothing of your concern so just turn around and keep eating now." She added an edge to her words and offered a slight glare, making people grumble but otherwise return to their food.

"I'd thank you but this is slightly your fault." Elle whispered after breathing a sigh of relief.

The other girl scoffed, crossing her arms and throwing back her hair. "Jeez, I should've just let them keep staring." She grinned though. "Well, I'll just-"

"It's not everyday girls run into the cafeteria screaming 'bout feelings. What's this about?" A familiar voice asked teasingly from behind the girls.

Both whipped around to face the speaker. Elle blushed heavily as his electric blue eyes twinkled with laughter that he attempted to hide. "H-hey Tanc." She said, cursing herself silently for stuttering.

He laughed, but then threw a hand over hit mouth to stop it. After a few seconds, he lowered it, but the grin was still on his face. "Hey. Gonna answer my question?"

Olivia grinned slyly, winking at her friend. "Ah, that's for the lady to say. I for one am headed to my own cafeteria."

"Wait, Liv don't-" Elle huffed as her friend ran out with a dramatic flourish of her cape. "Ugh…I hate that stupid-"

"I wouldn't say that you know. Charlie'd have a fit." Tancred spoke, waving a silver spoon at her.

"Oh, shut up. Charlie's not here." She grumbled, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey," He raised an eyebrow and poked her ribs with the spoon. "What's got you in such a bad mood?"

She blushed again, which he eyed strangely. _Why's she blushing so much? _"N-nothing. What's got you in such a great one? I distinctly remember you as more of a grumpy morning person. And where's Sandie?" She yawned, putting her head on top of her crossed arms.

"What? Pshh…I'm not in a good mood. See?" He put on an obviously fake frown, which was completely ruined by the shine in his eye. "Grr…I'm mad."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mr. Angry. But seriously, where's everyone's favorite summoner?"

Tancred faked a hurt look, gasping. "I thought **I **was your favorite?" He sniffed, looking to the other side. "I see how it is now."

"Err, you aren't a summoner. Not the kind I mean anyways." Elle grabbed his chin and pulled him towards her, placing a hand on his forehead. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't have a fever or anything right?"

He tried not to blush as he noticed their position, their noses but a few inches away from touching. It didn't work too well. "Yeah, I'm fine. Chipper as a…something really chipper. Why?"

Her brow furrowed, but she looked away, noticing how close they were. "You're just a little overly-happy. And a tad more cheeky too." She grinned back at him- just as cheekily as he was. "There's nothing wrong with that though."

He laughed awkwardly, trying to avoid her eyes. "Well, actually-"

The bell rang, making them both jump, startled. "Get to you're classes now brats!" Came an angry shout from Mrs. Weedon. She walked around the serving counter and began shooing kids away. "Come on, get! Get outta here!"

"Dammit, I didn't eat yet." Elle mumbled harshly, rubbing her growling stomach. "Not the best morning ever."

The blonde stood and offered her a hand. Yanking her up, he just said, "Let's go," and nearly skipped the way out, holding her hand still.

It would be an understatement to say that it was strange to see the pair together: A tall, blonde boy, smiling brightly, dragging a confused brunette girl down the hallway, both blushing and holding hands.

* * *

"Tancred, why aren't you talking with Sander?"

He stiffened, not expecting the question. _I can't tell her the real answer. _Laughing nervously, he looked at her. "Whadaya mean?" He asked, still happy despite the small dent the sudden interrogation created.

_I think you're scaring the poor girl. _A voice said in the back of his head.

He grinned at it. _I can't help it, sorry._

George snorted. _If you don't get a date because of this, it's your fault, not mine. Don't go around moping and blaming me. I'd tell you to quit being so happy, but I doubt you'd listen._

Elle raised her eyebrows at him, stopping before the sculpting classroom. She tapped her foot impatiently, crossed her arms, and looked at him. "You know what I mean. Normally you two would be happily chattin' about like those annoying birds and joking around right now, but he pretty much glared at you when we passed him. Does this have anything to do with your freakishly- no offence- happy mood?"

He sighed, making an effort just to meet her waiting eyes. He cringed inwardly at the glint of steel in them. "I don't know what you're going on about," he lied.

"Don't bluff. You two are best friends. No one would glare for nothing. Especially Sander." She looked down, breaking their contact. "If it's my fault-"

"No!" He shouted, then lowered his voice from a strange look from her. "I mean, err, no. It doesn't have anything to do with you." _Well, sorta. It's not your fault anyway. _"I just, was acting kind of stupid and well…" He looked away ashamed. "I didn't really apologize yet."

Her eye's widened. "This is about something stupid? It better not be as stupid as I hope it isn't or I'd… Come on." She dragged him into the classroom, and made a beeline for the seats next to the African boy. The said boy twitched as Elle plopped down onto the seat, making Tancred stumble before catching the seat next to her. An awkward silence was settled. "Ahem." She muttered after a minute, jabbing her blonde friend in the ribs.

He winced and looked at Lysander, who sat straight as a board, staring intently at the front of the classroom, though no one was teaching yet. After another jab from Elle, which he successfully blocked, he let out an awkward "Hello."

Lysander made no move of acknowledging him. Inwardly, Tancred shushed George's many complaints about upsetting the other boy. Then he took a deep breath, opening his mouth. "I think I'm gonna do it at break. No promises, but I think I might." He mumbled, just loud enough for the two people to hear him.

Lysander broke out in a giant grin. "Finally came around did you? Well, better late than never." He laughed and clapped his friend on the back, who sighed in relief.

The girl between them looked at the boys with confusion etched onto her features. "Wait, what? I thought you were-"

"Okay class!" Mr. Nickels bellowed, sweeping into the classroom. Instantly, every pair of eyes latched themselves onto the flamboyant teacher, except Elle's, who hesitated for a moment, looking between the boys, then looked at the man. "Today we're working on…"

* * *

"Hey, Elle, could you go ahead of us for a sec?" Lysander asked, still grinning at his best friend mischievously.

The girl, though a little suspicious, nodded. "Yeah, course!" She smiled, jogging to the tree, where two nervous boys, two chatting girls, a grinning violinist, and dazed Billy sat.

"Well, she sure cheered up once you came around." Tancred said, his eyes lingering on her retreating figure for a moment before looking at his friend. "I guess that's a good thing."

Lysander waved it off with a shrug of his shoulders and a nonchalant wave of his hands. "Probably worried that something was up between us. Anyways," He jutted his chin to where Elle sat, teasing a blushing Olivia with Fidelio. Emma giggled next to them. "How're you gonna ask Elle?"

"Weeeeeell," Tancred trailed off.

"You don't have a plan? You can't be serious." The African looked at him incredulously.

The other boy shook his head. "No, well actually I do. But now it sounds really stupid."

"How so? Then again anything you plan might be stupid."

Tancred sent him a half-hearted glare. "I take offence to that."

Lysander winked, chuckling. "I am aware of that."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I was just gonna, you know ask her to come with me for a sec, and then just ask her if she'd fancy going to the ball with me." He kicked a stray rock. "It's not very…"

"Spectacular?" The pale boy nodded. "Well, it doesn't necessarily have to be right? I mean, Elle would find it okay."

Tancred shrugged. "I guess. But hey," He smirked as he noticed a tinge of pink on the conversing Gabriel and Emma's faces. "I have a better plan."

* * *

"Ols! Emmers!" Elle called, trying to land a jump in her wilder friend's lap. She landed on her bum though, as Olivia turned quickly so she wouldn't be able to make it. She winced, rubbing her now-sore behind. "Oww…That's mean Liv." She pouted.

"Mhm, sure. And trying to jump me wasn't going to hurt at all." Olivia stated, sarcasm laced heavily through her voice.

"Of course not! You're a very soft cushion you know, and I'm afraid my bum isn't the skinniest thing around. So I got a few layers of fatty-ness to protect me." She winked. "I wouldn't feel a thing."

"Not you dummy." The actress had to suppress a smile though. "Sooo….going to the ball with storm boy yet?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

Fidelio, being the ever great observer he was, perked up at this sentence. He crawled over to their triangle, where he squeezed between Emma and Olivia. Propping his elbows onto his knees as to support his head, he grinned. "What is this I hear? Elle's headed with Tanc?"

The girl (A/N: I think you know which one) flushed. "No, he hasn't asked me yet."

"Yet?" Olivia mused curiously. "So you do want him to ask?"

"Wait what? No!"

"Hmm…Not very convincing are you?" The musician nodded, then turned to the blunette. "You know, I think we should push the him to make the first move." He looked at Emma. "Do you think so?"

"Nope." Emma said, a secretive little grin played onto her delicate features. The others eyed her surprised. "I think he'll come around really soon."

"Emmy!" Elle squeaked. "What the hell?"

Olivia chuckled, pinching her friend's cheeks like she were a baby. "Awwww…our wittle Ewwl-lee is all growing up. She's gonna get herself a wittle boyprien. How cute!"

Smacking her hands away, Elle snapped, blushing heavily. "Don't act like you don't see Charlie oggoling you right now."

"Please, you're talking nonsense." She looked to her side pouting, not yet registering the faint pinkness dusted over her cheeks.

"Liv," Fidelio exclaimed, using a mock surprised innocent voice. "Didn't you know? Char-"

"-coal is black? Well, usually it is!" Olivia cut in.

"What the…?" The two teasers looked at each other.

"Hey, where'd Emmy go?" Elle asked, looking around her. "Oh mah gosh! Fidelio shrank her!" She looked at him with awe and confusion.

"What?" His eye twitched as Olivia burst out in a fit of giggles. "I did not. I don't even have the power to shrink people, and been if I did it would've been you rather than Emma."

"What?!" The former girl shouted, glaring at him. "Why I oughtta-"

"Look!" Olivia whisper yelled, pointing to the tree.

"What is it? Where? Lemme- oooh." Elle sighed dramatically. "Aww."

Fidelio nodded. "You know I think that Gabe has the hots for Emma." The girls simultaneously hit his head. He winced, grabbing it. "Ow! What was that for?"

"That makes it sound too weird for those two." They both sniffed, then returned to the blushing pair, who chatted away happily.

* * *

"You're not serious are you?"

Tancred frowned, looking at his friend. "Well, course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," the boy frowned a bit. "How are you gonna get those two to do that with you? It's a bit…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." The blonde waved it off. "I don't know if they'll agree with me, but if they do, I won't have a hard time getting them to do it. Well, maybe Gabriel, but that's all."

Lysander sat to ponder it. "Well, I suppose it could work." He gave in a little. "But you realize that you will be detention for even longer right?"

Tancred shrugged. "I don't think any of us will care if they say yes. And plus, it'll only be one or two, maybe three. I'd say it's worth it." He cracked a grin as he say Fidelio clutched his head, complaining to the two girls who hit him. His smile grew as he noticed that Elle (A/N: -and Fidelio and Olivia, but do you really think he was looking at them?) was 'spying' on Gabriel and Emma. "Definitely worth it. You're going to help me out right?"

Sighing, Lysander propped himself up on his elbows. "You really are head over heals aren't you?"

Nodding, Tancred agreed. Though you couldn't say it was against his will.

* * *

"As you all know, the spring ball-" he cringed as he said the words "-is coming up soon." Manfred took a deep breath as he saw everyone in the room nod. "Good. Now, you should also be aware that you, as special children of the Red King, are all expected to attend the party."

There was a pause in the room, like everything stopped moving for a few seconds, before it turned to an outrage. Shouts could be heard from everywhere, and papers were sent flying into the air as people jumped up to express themselves.

"What?"

"Who the he-"

"This is friggen-"

"I don't want-"

"SILENCE!" Manfred yelled over the crowd. Everyone who stood, which could rightfully be accused as only the 'good side' and Joshua, sat grudgingly and glowered into the older man's skull. He tried not to look uncomfortable. "Now, you will do as I have instructed, or you will receive detentions or in some cases-" he sent a specific glare to Torsson and Newburt "-perhaps suspension."

"Wait!" Elle said, standing and slamming her hands, palms down, on to the table. "What the he-" she stopped herself. "What's going on here? Why do we have to go?"

"Dr. Bloor has specifically requested-" he put a twist on the word "-that all of you brats go, so you can show some kind of respect for the school you got into." He didn't tell anyone the real reason, as the only people who had to know were himself and Endless.

"But that means we all gotta get dates." She continued, a twitch in her fingers that wasn't very hidden. "And it's a formal thingy."

Manfred smirked in his twisted way. "Well then I suppose you ought to find someone who'll actually tolerate you. And the formal thing shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Why you little-"

"Bloor." One of the twins said. "What's the meaning of this?"

"We refuse to have to take boys to this party." They both sneered at the words, as if they burned.

'You two will go." He commanded, locking his cold black eyes on them. "And that is final."

A hand rose out. "Manfred, is it alright if I bring someone from the other school?" Lysander asked, referring to the school where normal kids went.

"I don't suppose it should be a problem." He answer.

"Hey! Wait-"

"Newburt, sit down, shut up, and do your work."

* * *

"Charlie! Gabriel!" Tancred ran over to the pair just before they entered their dorms. He skidded to a halt before them. "Got you, finally. " He grumbled as he panted against the wall.

"What are you talking about?" Charlie asked, looked at the older boy in confusion.

"Charlie, Gabe, do you guys have dates yet?" Lysander asked, calmly walking up the stairs that Tancred had emerged from.

Blushing slightly, Gabriel shook his head. "No, but I was planning-"

"On getting lucky with Emma, I know." Tancred interrupted, grinning as his words made the physic flushed even further. "And I don't suppose you're asking Livvy?" He directed his question at Charlie.

"What? I don't know what you're blabbing about." Charlie managed to sputter out, crossing his thin arms.

"Don't start lying now." The blonde clucked.

"Tancred shut up. You're not doing this right." Lysander butt in, playfully shoving him away. "Anyways, you guys obviously are going to, but you don't have any plans as to how you're going to ask the two ladies, am I right?"

They nodded. "But what does this have anything to do with anything?" Gabriel asked cautiously, having a guess at where this was going.

Tancred reached into his bag and pulled out a bunch of rather crumpled papers, which he attempted to straighten before handing them to the younger boys. "I think you can guess the rest. Although I must warn you, my genius will probably land us in detention."

Charlie stared at the words and the poorly drawn notes, then looked again at the picture of three boys on top of a rectangle thing, which he presumed was a table. "You're joking. I can't even play the trumpet good."

"You think you can learn them in time? As in tomorrow by dinner?"

Gabriel looked at Tancred, disbelieving. "You don't have to do this you know. I'm pretty sure Elle likes you already."

He rolled his eyes. "Have you read the lyrics yet? Sander told me so already."

"It's true." The summoner added. "And if you could, get-"

"Now what's all this about?" Fidelio asked, coming from behind them. "I wasn't invited."

Tancred grinned brightly, grabbing a few more papers from his backpack. "Well, speak of the devil. Fi-delio my buddy. I've got a project for you have got to help me out with…"

* * *

"Hey Liv?"

"Yes, Elle darlin'?" She answered.

"Do you think Tanc's gonna ask me out?"

She raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you didn't want to talk about you're feelings?"

"Shut up." Elle said. "It's just that Manfred's making all the endowed go, and I don't really want to have to turn anyone down before he asks, or it'll be…awkward."

"Oh. So that's why Emma was a bit upset when she came in."

"Upset?" The brunette tilted her head. "How so?"

"Before you came in, she huffed, throwing her stuff around- and I mean that for reals- and then she just changed and plopped down to sleep."

Elle smirked. "Probably wondering when little old Gabe's gonna come around."

"Yeah." Olivia nodded, yawning.

"Hmm…we should go to sleep now shouldn't we?"

"Probably yeah."

"Right." Elle pulled on the gray pajama top she wore. "Well, night Ols. And Emmy if your conscious."

"Night." Came two replies.

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The end (of the chapter- not quite done with the story yet. I have a feeling it's going to be really long by the way, so those of you who don't like long stories, I'm sorry.) Betcha can't guess what Tancred's cooked up! Or actually, you might. It's a bit obvious to me… but I wrote it so I don't know about you guys.

…

Well, anyways. I forgot the disclaimer, so the usual. **I no ownz, Nimmo rulez. **Haha…I am so lame. XD

R&R!

~tubs.


	22. Tancred's Plan: Action

Gahhh! That was such a huge time difference! I am so so sorry about that giant break I took but I went to Chicago for a wedding and I didn't bring my computer…and I couldn't get my hands on any since my dad was part of the wedding party. XP So to make up for that, I'm setting out this chapter right now! I haven't even unpacked yet….

**I don't own! Nimmo get's all the credit! Oh- and Herb Alpert owns his song.**

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Elle yawned, smiling a bit as she looked to the bright side of the day ahead of her. She looked out the one bleak window the girl's dorm had, and noticed that, as always, she had woken at the crack of dawn, where the rays of sunlight barely flowed through. It was a magnificent sight, a pretty one if you every saw it.

Humming a song to herself, the girl tip-toed into the bathroom, pausing to grab clothes, so she wouldn't wake any of the other girls. She stopped herself suddenly, shaking her head wildly, trying to rid herself of the tune. _Damn Tancred and his Oasis. _She scowled as _'Wonderwall' _continued playing in her head. _They aren't that good…Actually they are. But whatever. Not the point._

She undressed and stepped into the shower, hissing as the cold water hit her skin. After waiting for a few moments, she sighed, content as it's temperature increased slightly. She smiled to herself as she prepared for one of the most memorable days of her life, not that she would know that yet.

* * *

Tancred had barely slept. He tried to, he really did. He knocked out at around 10, but as soon as 12 o'clock hit, his eyes just snapped open and he just couldn't keep them closed for longer than a good ten minutes. And, believe me, he tried. A couple more than a couple times. Actually, a lot more than that. But he still couldn't do it.

_It must be my nerves. I'm nervous. _He reasoned. _It's not like it's not expected. How many people would do this in front of…Gods, I don't even know how many people there'll be!_

_Let's just take a guess of two- maybe three?- hundred, give or take a few. And I'd say that you shouldn't be nervous, but then I'd be lying._

_Oh, shut it George. _Tancred grumbled, stumbling into the bathroom, deciding that if he was going to be awake, he might as well do something productive. _I know that. And I doubt that I could stop being nervous even if I wanted to. Singing is not my strong point you know, and the other guys said Charlie's trumpet skills are about as good as his aunts are. Gabriel doesn't have that bad of a voice, thank god._

_Actually, you're not that bad. I'd say you're alright, sometimes. About Charlie, I think he'll try better with his dearly beloved watching. _

_Thanks, your support is enlightening. Now if you'd butt out, I'd like to take a nice shower. _

_Lysander is way better than you are. By a long shot. He'd appreciate my help, I know it._

_I love you too George. I love you a bunch. _

* * *

"Why do you always wake up so early?" Emma asked, yawning and stretching her thin arms. "I've never met anyone who actually enjoys being awake at this time of day."

Elle shrugged as she continued her attempts at stealing Olivia's blankets. "I don't know. It's just so pretty outside. And- NO! Come on Liv, get up. It's almost time for breakfast. Ugh. You're such a pain in the-"

"No cussing in the morning young lady!" Olivia snapped up, glaring at her friend. "It's bad for you."

"There you go, acting all motherly again. I'm older than you, and I was going to say butt."

"Whatever." The actress waved her off, and nonchalantly walked into the bathroom, dragging her blanket with her. "I don't want to hear your excuses."

"Wait- what? Excuses for what?" Elle asked confused, then sighed as the door shut. "Whatever. So you nearly ready to go Emma?"

The blonde finished zipping her sweater. "Yeah, I guess. Are we gonna wait for Olivia?"

"I don't think we have a choice." The brunet answered, shrugging her shoulders. "So, Emma." She flopped back onto her bed, smirking. "Are you going to the dance, ball, thingy?"

"I don't suppose I can't, can I?" She responded.

"Wait, what?" Elle asked, dropping her professional look. "I'm sorry, that was just a bit confusing. But I'm gonna take that as a 'hell yeah I am!' because it seemed that way. And since you are, are you up for shopping on say… Saturday?"

"Shopping!?" The shout came from the bathroom. "Why wasn't I asked?"

"Well, I can't exactly ask you while you're in the shower can I, Liv? But you're invited too."

"I'm sure I can come. But you don't have a date yet." Emma pointed out, grabbing her backpack. "You can't go without one."

"No, no I don't. But I do have mad karaoke skills."

"What?" Olivia asked for both younger girls, stepping out from the bathroom. "What does that help?"

"You'll seeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Elle sang, skipping out the dorm. "And it'll all work out perfectly. And by perfectly, I mean-"

The blonde and the blunette walked out the door in unison, walking to the stairs. "The breakfast hall is the other way Elle."

"Obviously, I knew that. Just testing you…yeah."

* * *

"Tanc, this isn't going to work."

"What are you talking about Gabe? Of course it's going to work."

The boy stopped, making the others cease their steps and turn around. He flipped his hair out of his eyes and said, "No, I mean, why'd you suddenly change it to the morning? How are we going to get a piano, a guitar, some drums -who's playing those anyways?-, and well, actually a trumpet and a violin won't be a big issue…" Gabriel looked down. "But still, how're we gonna get them into the cafeteria? And we all are in different departments too."

"Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel." Tancred walked over to him casually and threw an arm across the other boy's shoulders. "Quit worrying. I changed it to this morning because I felt like it. The instruments, well…." He grinned mischievously. "Let's just say those are taken care of. I play guitar, sort of, and Sander's agreed to use his mad drum skills to help me. And don't worry. Just walk in with us to the art department, cause that's where everything is, and Charlie-" He nodded to his friend. "Olivia's probably hanging out there for a bit like she normally does."

Fidelio ran out of the blue cafeteria, looking around madly. When he caught sight of Tancred, he rushed over to him. "You changed the times, right? How'd you time this so perfectly?"

"I didn't." Tancred blinked. "How's it timed perfectly? We're all getting detentions, so nothings perfect."

"You didn't know?" The other boy blinked furiously before calming down a little bit. "Well, see all the teachers are gathered in the art department's cafeteria."

Lysander looked at him confused. "That's even worse!"

"No it's not! Think about it! It's a musical act right? That's got a bit of drama in it, art not really, but it's still there, and everyone's playing an instrument!" Fidelio waved his arms in the air. "Do you get it yet? Per-fect!"

"Fido, you're not making sense." Charlie said bluntly.

"Oh I get it!" The African beamed. "That is perfect timing! Then we can't get in trouble!"

"Exactly! It's-"

"Wait, slow down guys!" Tancred interrupted, cutting through their speeches. "I don't get it. And I'm pretty sure Charlie and Gabriel don't either."

Lysander rolled his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be smart?"

"No. What idiot told you that?"

"Well, that's besides the point. Look, if Dr. Saltweather sees Charlie's performance, then he'll be so happy that his student's doing good or something. And so will Mrs. Tilpin-" He spat that one out rather nastily "-and all the other musical teachers."

"And the drama ones probably won't mind if you put on a bit of a show." Fidelio added.

"Oooooooooooooooh." Charlie drawled out. "I get it. So we wont be getting it trouble. Cool!"

Fidelio shrugged. "Well, actually it's not likely but we still-"

"No way!" Tancred jumped in excitement. "I didn't think that was even possible!"

"Are you sure this is alright?" Gabriel asked cautiously.

"Gabe, just do what you do best, rock out on the piano, and I'll do what I don't do best, sing my lungs out as I attempt to play a song on a guitar that I barely learned how to use. Now let's go, there's a show waiting to be put on." The blonde laughed, and walked ahead of them, whistling merrily.

"You think he's alright?" Charlie asked, looking at the electricity cackling over his friend's head.

"Nope. He is completely loony, but I guess that's alright." Lysander shrugged before going to walk besides the whistler, beginning a tune himself.

"Charlie?"

"What Billy?"

"I think that they both are. Loony I mean."

"Yeah." Came three different voices.

* * *

"This sucks-"

"Elle!"

"I wasn't going to say anything! I was just going to say this sucks bad!" The brunette threw her hands over her head in exasperation. "Cripeys Ols, you're being sharper than usual."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. I'm playing a mother in the next play, so I'm practicing."

"And you have to practice on me?"

"Who'd be better?" She challenged.

"What about…what about…Emma!" Elle nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Emma."

"Don't drag me into this." Emma said, not even looking up from her sketch as she grabbed a bowl of cereal. "I don't want to be a part of it."

"What's there to do about Emma? She's a perfect little sweetheart, yes she is!" The actress cooed, pinching the blonde's cheeks. "Yes you are!"

"Stop it, please!" She swatter away the hands. "I'd rather not have you do that, if you wouldn't mind."

"Wow, maybe you are right." Elle laughed. "Wait, you? Right? The words just don't match."

"Hey!" Olivia huffed. "I take offence to that."

"You were supposed to." Elle plopped down on her usual seat, Emma going across from her with Olivia. "What're you still doing here anyways?" She asked after the latter flopped down.

"I can't stay? How rude. Well, I just have a feeling that I should stick around, gut instinct or whatnot."

Emma nodded absently, still focused on what now was an outline of a bird. "Yeah, she has a point. I think something big is going to happen today."

"You mean like a million teachers gathered in a million clusters at the head table?"

"What?"

"Yeah. Look over there." Elle jutted her chin out to the right before grabbing a bite of the cornflakes. "What'd I tell you."

"That is weird." the actress whispered, staring at the group.

"Yes, it is." Emma said, finally looking up from her picture. "What's going on?"

"No idea. But maybe it has to do with that black lump."

"What black lump?"

"That one! Must I point everything out?" Elle sighed, her finger in a vague area of the 'black lump.' "It's pretty obvious. I think it's a piano."

"It sure does look like one. But why would there be-"

"Elle stop playing with your powers!" Olivia scolded.

"I am doing no such thing." She huffed defiantly. "Why'd you say that?"

"Who else could blow a tarp off of that thing from a distance?"

Elle snorted. "I don't know. But I sure didn't. Wait is that…you know?"

"It looks like him. I mean them."

"Emma, were you just looking at Gabe?"

"No!"

"What the hell?"

"Elle!"

"Yeah whatever. But why's Tanc throwing on a guitar?"

* * *

"I still think that this is a horrible idea."

"Cripeys, you are such a worry wart Gabriel."

Charlie snorted. "You hang out with Elle too much."

Tancred sniffed. "I don't know what you are talking about Charlie."

"Who else do you know that says 'Cripeys' and don't make someone up."

"Well-"

"Tanc, don't even try it. You know there's no one."

"Shut up Sander! I can guarantee you there is someone."

"I will not shut up."

"Well I bet you will if I tell Lauren about that little-"

"You guys we're here!" Fidelio whispered, stopping before the rather large green doors to the art cafeteria.

Unnoticed by anyone, all the boys gulped, except for Billy, who had nothing to do with the plan. Tancred shook slightly. "Aww…is somebody nervous?" Lysander grinned, poking his best friend's side.

"No!" Came his reply, though it was really fast. "Nervous? What kind of ridiculous idea is that? Pshhhhhh." The blonde laughed nervously.

"Come on, you can do this guys."

"Of course you can say that, you perform all the time Fidelio."

"Shut up Charlie. A bit of support's not bad is it?" He opened the door slowly, then shut it. "The girls are all there. And so are the teachers."

"Yeah. We gotta get in there and to the instruments without them seeing us."

"You put the instruments in there?"

"Well of course." Tancred nodded seriously. "What else would I do?"

Charlie's eyes widened. "How'd you do that?"

"A bit of wind can't hurt anyone." Tancred sighed after a moment from five indifferent stares. "Okay, maybe it can, but that's beside the point."

"So how're we going to do that?" Lysander asked, being the ever reasonable one. "Getting in without them seeing us might not be a challenge but we need a plan."

"Oh, that's easy. Knowing Elle, she'd notice the teachers and then all the girls would be staring at them for a moment."

"Tanc?"

"Are you going to say what I think you're going to say?"

"Most likely, yes."

"Well then shut up Charlie."

The boys all poked their heads out from behind the door. Tancred grinned as he noticed his assumption was right. The three girls that were actually important at the moment were currently giving confused stares to the cluster of teachers that sat, or stood for the matter, around the head table. _That sure is a lot of teachers. Didn't even know we had so many._

_You don't know a lot of things._

_George?_

_Yes, I know. I'll shut up._

After a unspoken vote, Tancred took lead of the seven creeping boys. They walked silently, hiding from view, over to a pile of stuff hidden under the black tarp. The storm boy released a not-so controlled spout of air that sent the cover tumbling. "Is that the piano? Gabriel asked, walking over to sit at the bench.

"No, it's a car." Tancred rolled his eyes.

"How did you manage to-"

"We'll talk about this later Sander." Tancred swung on the acoustic guitar, smiling as it fit snuggly. "For now, we gots ta play this song so we can get it over with."

"I think people are staring at you." Billy whispers, the corners of his mouth pulled down to a frown.

"Let them stare. You should go sit down somewhere Billy. Don't risk getting in trouble." Lysander answered, sitting on the drum stool. "Do you have a mic?"

"Sadly, no." Tancred smiled sheepishly. "But don't worry, they'll hear it."

"Don't do what I think you're going to do." Fidelio warned cautiously, pulling out his violin.

"What's that?" Charlie asked, attaching the mouthpiece to his trumpet.

"This." A streak of lightning, complete with the booming thunder, hit the floor with a crack. A scorch mark steamed in the middle of the floor. Most people jumped, but immediately eyes were attached to Tancred.

"Actually, that wasn't it. That was worse." the violinist whispered harshly, not quiet talking normally for the sudden silence.

"Ahem." Tancred cleared his voice and giving a small wave to Emma, Olivia, and Elle's confused glances. "Well, we best get this show on the road."

[To listen to this song, go to this link. **http://www.*youtube.*com/watch?v=*4WZjqdPVaI0&*feature=fvw**. Just take out the *'s.]

_

* * *

_

You see this guy, this guy's in love with you

_Yes I'm in love, who looks at you the way I do_

_When you smile, I can tell we know each other very well_

_How can, I show you, I'm glad I got to know you_

Her eyes widened, breath catching in her throat. Elle blinked. Then blinked again. That couldn't be right, right? That surely wasn't the Tancred Torsson walking over to her, singing in an actually not very bad voice. Wait, did he just jump on a table? Dr. Bloor is so going to kick his ass for breaking all that stuff. Wait, no, cause that isn't Tancred. It couldn't be. He didn't know how to play the guitar very well, at least that's what he had told her, so it couldn't possibly be him who played the notes she heard, even if there was one slung around his neck. And he definitely would never be looking her in the eye as he walked over the table top, because if he did then the song was about her, and there was no way it could've been.

Well, actually there was…

_

* * *

_

Cause I've heard some talk, they say you think I'm fine

_Yes I'm in love, and what I'd do to make you mine_

_Tell me now, is it so?, don't let me be the last to know_

_My hands are shaking, don't let my heart keep breaking_

That was… it couldn't be… Gabriel Silk? No way. Emma's eyes were caught staring into his as he played, unlike Tancred, stuck sitting at the piano. His voice, though it wasn't very great, still carried over the silent crowds of people, and yet…No. It wasn't, was it? He couldn't be looking at her. It was just highly unlikely. She was just Emma. Nothing special. But he was Gabriel Silk, dammit. He was…Well, he just was Gabriel, she reasoned. And he was looking at her? While singing a song about some girl that he loved? No way. Not possible.

Did he really hear that? She never made it obvious that she was totally in love with him...

_

* * *

_

Cause I need your love

_I want your love_

_Say you're in love, in love with this guy_

_If not I'll just die_

Charlie actually wasn't as bad as he said he was on the trumpet. It actually sounded pretty good. She liked it anyways, especially the current trumpet solo thing he played right now. But then again, Olivia liked a lot of things about Charlie. His hair, no matter how tangled it was, and his eyes always shown brightly, making him obvious to anyone who knew him. He was kind and caring and- well, she could go on for awhile. But of course he didn't like her that way, no matter how much the others said so. He couldn't because…because he was Charlie Bone. And he's too… Well, he wasn't too anything really. Try as she might, Olivia could find no other reason why he would try and catch her eye as he played. He didn't actually have to though, she looked straight at him after she caught a glimpse of that untamed hair he had. But it was odd, seeing him try to direct the words at her, as he played. Or at least, she hoped he directed the words at her…

Dammit, she was only 12. This kind of this only happens in books and movies, where the two fall in love as children and then live happily for the rest of their lives. But, the more she thought about it, Charlie's life so far would make one heck of a movie…

_

* * *

_

Tell me now, is it so?, don't let me be the last to know

_My hands are shaking, don't let my heart keep breaking_

_Cause I need your love_

_I want your love_

_Say your in love, in love with this guy_

_If not I'll just_

_Die_

That seemed to be the end of the song. Tancred stopped singing, the trumpet played for one last time, the violinist waved his stick thing for just a couple seconds longer, the pianist held the last long note, and the drummer set down his sticks. But all she paid attention to was the hand thrust out in front of her, pale yet warm, not that she grabbed it yet. It always was like that. Elle looked up at the face, which had a hopeful grin written on it, then back at the hand, eyebrows raised.

"Staring's not going to get you anywhere. Get up here, yeah? It's a bit embarrassing." His regular voice came out, laced with some trying-to-be persuasive tone.

Slowly, a grin crept up onto her face as she took the hand that hoisted her up onto the table top.

* * *

"That was…" Elle leaned closer to the shoulder she was leaning on. "Well, rather interesting."

"That's all I get? Rather interesting?"

She swatted his other hand, which was creeping up next to her, away with her free one, her other occupied with holding his. "I am not ticklish, so leave me alone."

"Don't lie." He grinned lazily, winking not very smoothly at her. "You know you don't want me to leave you alone."

"No, I don't."

Lysander rolled his eyes at the display. He snorted as he looked at their hands. "Well that took you both long enough, but stop being so lovey-dovey. You're acting like a new couple."

"We are a new couple."

"No you aren't Tanc. You didn't officially ask her did you?"

Elle rolled her eyes, though her previous grin was still plastered over her face, just like it was on Tancred's. "I think that singing for me, nearly getting a few dozen more detentions, which by the way you still have to thank Dr. Saltweather for saving you from them, and stealing my first kiss was enough to ask."

"No way? That was your first?"

Elle blushed. "I shouldn't tell you things anymore."

"No, really. You're serious?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes you should feel honored."

That grin only got wider as he sat down in on of the classroom seats. "Woah, never thought that. I actually am. The feeling is very…uh…nice? I guess. But-" He looked up, somewhat concerned. "Aren't you, like…mad at me?"

"For what?"

"Stealing it without asking? Or maybe stealing it in front of hundreds of people?" Tancred shrugged. "I know plenty of girls that would be."

"No. Not really. I doubt those plenty of other girls would be mad either, it was in a rather appropriate manner. You want to know something else interesting?"

"What?"

"I had a plan quite similar to yours, but I guess I don't have to use it anymore. Different song obviously, but about the same, just no instruments."

"Dear god." Lysander groaned, sinking farther into the chair. "I can't take it anymore. This is impossible."

Elle and Tancred laughed. "Sorry bud." Tancred patted the other boys shoulders apologetically.

"I bet Fidelio doesn't have-"

* * *

"-to deal with this."

"I'm sure he does, Fido. I'm actually pretty positive that Lysander is busy saying the same thing as you are but to Ells and Tanc."

"But Liv, I have to deal with not one pair of giggly-lovey-dovey children. No. I have to stand with two pairs! Four people! And you couldn't be anymore like…like that with each other." His hands were thrown up into his hair a while ago, tugging at his roots.

"I don't think that Emma and Gabe are very lovey dovey. Their only holding hands." Charlie pointed out, what he thought was smartly.

The duo blushed. "Sh-shut up." Gabriel stuttered under his breath.

Olivia laughed. "Well, hate to leave you Charlie, but I ought to go to class now."

"Oh…right." He let go of her hand quickly.

She giggled again, making Fidelio groan in frustration. Emma whispered something, probably the same as Olivia, and let go of Gabriel after a quick hug.

"Thank any lord up there that the lovey-ness is gone." Fidelio muttered, looking up.

"Oh wait." Charlie said, stopping. "That means she's going to the ball with me right?"

A book, appearing from who knows where, was suddenly pounding against the violinist's head. "Oh sweet Jesus. Just shoot me. Please."

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Haha, the end of the chapter is here. I'm sorry if the chapter wasn't all that great, I'm not the best person to go to with romance. And for people who are wondering, yes, the adventure is going to come in soon. It is under that category, right? ;D Well, I hope you liked it.

By the way, I don't have a Charlie Bone book on me, so if Dr. Saltweather isn't his (Charlie's) trumpet teacher, I'm sorry. I'm not going to fix it though…. .

Okay. R&R!

~tubs.


	23. Telling Dad

Hate me. Just do it. Please. I feel terrible. Absolutely _terrible_. It's been…I don't even know how long since I've been able to write anything for you guys, and it's all because of that damn thing that people love to call school started up again. Ugh! I hate me…Ahem. I'll start more positively.

As promised, I set out my Gabriel story. Right now, only the prologue is out, but I'm working on it! And it has a title already, even though it is stupid. So go check it out! Also, to all of you who reviewed the previous chapter, I'm sorry I didn't reply fast! FF wasn't letting me answer you guys and…and…UGH! Anywho, I'm sorry this took so so long to get out. My school just started the new terms so I was busy shopping for all my supplies and whatnot. I didn't have any time to update…It was making me go nuts… But I made it work! I got myself some spare minutes and am writing this. Somehow… So anywho, off we go!

**I only own Elle and George. The rest of this belongs to Jenny Nimmo. :D Martha Stewart belongs to herself too.**

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"Olivia. Emma. I can't go on Saturday."

Olivia jumped out of her seat, her face fuming. She waved her hands around wildly, making some unknown point. "What? What do you mean you can't make it? Are you ditching us for Tancred? Cause you know, you asked us before he even asked you out." She pointed an accusing finger at her friend. "Let me repeat that. You asked us-"

"Ols, relax." Elle smiled lazily as she dropped onto her bed. "I'm not ditching you guys for Tancred."

Emma snorted lightly. "I wondered when you'd figure it out."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anywho, I can't go because I gotta serve a detention. Remember? I got myself about a month's worth of those because of my stupid boyfriend."

A small o shape took the place of the actresses' mouth. She nodded slowly, dropping her finger. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. But you can come on Sunday right? Right?" She plopped down onto Elle's bed and nudged the girl's ribs as she laid down. "Right?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Would you even let me not go? I'm sure I could. Probably. Maybe. Oh, can I bring Lauren too, if I go? She should buy a dress." She trailed off, her forehead furrowed a bit.

"Darlin', straighten that out before you get stress marks." Olivia commented lightly.

"Sure, but why maybe?" Emma asked at the same time, setting down her pencil. "Why not a positive yes?"

"Well, the thing is….err, I guess I'll just put it this way. See, I have a dad who knows I'm not really big on shopping. Honestly, I avoid it if I can. And if I want to go, he'll ask why, since I hate it. And if he asks why, then I have to give him a reason. I'd tell him there's a ball, but knowing him he'd already know about it because he'd see the multitude of posters everywhere. I'd still have to tell him though. Then he'd ask me if I was planning to go to the ball, because it says I have to take a boy, and then I'd say yes. And from there, I'm sure you can guess the rest."

"Ooooh.." Olivia uttered out, holding the 'o' for a while. "You have to break it to dudders dearest."

"Yep." Elle nodded. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "I don't think he'll take it bad, especially since he probably knew I liked Tancred and he's already met him. But you know, you never actually know."

Emma nodded. "I don't know how I'll tell Aunty." She frowned.

After a rather dramatic sigh, Olivia stood up, with a flourish of her nightgown, and pressed her palms against her hips. She huffed. "You two are way too serious about this. It's not that hard. All you do is this." She cleared her throat so it was deeper. "He'll say 'Hello honey, welcome home.' and you just go 'It's nice to be home, away from those dreadful Bloor's. Oh and I have some news for you dad.' From there, he'll be like 'Oh? What's up?' and you say 'Well, you know how I like Tancred? Well, he asked me out, and now we're officially together and Ima gonna go to the ball with him! Oh and Olivia wants to go shopping tomorrow, so I can go right?' and he'll be all like 'That's great dear. Olivia you say? You mean that bright, talented, young, beautiful, gorgeous, gifted, wonderful, gr-"

"Liv." Elle struggled to say without laughing. "Going a tad bit conceited aren't you?"

The actress rolled her eyes. "The point is, he's bound to say yeah, and it won't be that hard to tell him." She snuck a quick glance at the other two girls and sniffed. "You're just jealous anyways." She muttered.

Emma shared a quick glance with her brown haired friend before promptly bursting out into fits of laughter.

* * *

"So you'll tell him right?"

"For the last time, Ms. Vertigo, I'll do it. Just stop asking. Please."

The said girl sighed, pulling her trunk onto the bus. "I know, it's just that you know, you ought to go to that ball with me."

"I thought you were going with Char-laaayy?" Elle grinned, leaning lazily against the purple doors.

Olivia waved her hand. "Oh, you know what I meant. You'll be fine at Bloor's by yourself?" She asked concerned.

"Jeez, are you my mother or something?" She let out a small puff of air at her friend's disapproving look. "Okay, fine. I won't be alone though." She grinned, resisting the urge to look at Tancred who was obviously going to be there with her. "Half the whole school is staying here because of Manfred."

Olivia giggled. "Oh yeah, that's right. You saw his face this morning right? It was priceless. Oh, man, he just realized how many people he made stay for detention and boy, he was…" She laughed.

Elle nodded, briefly noticing a certain blonde start walking over to her from his goodbye's to Lysander at the green bus. "Yep. But anywho, you ought to go missy, before the bus leaves without all the kids that we're blocking from getting in. So I'll see you Sunday."

"Please. Just go already." A kid behind her muttered.

Olivia glared at him slightly, then turned back to Elle. "Yeah. And you better be there." Her friend said sternly, before moving into a seat.

Elle offered a small wave and started walking back to the school, aware of the presence of pounding feet getting closer and closer to her. She hid a small smile as they slowed to a jog, and then to a regular walk with huffing breaths. "Hello, love."

"Don't….Hello….love…..me." A great, sharp intake of air was heard before a hand clasped hers. Tancred looked down at her, smiling slightly. "You do that on purpose don't you?"

"Me?" She responded, a hand held over her heart. "My, Tancred, I'm hurt. I would never do such a thing!"

He paused his stride for a moment to give her a sarcastic look. "Right." He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I'm with an evil genius."

"Why thank you. You'd never believe how many times I've been called that one."

"Try me."

"One."

He scoffed. "Yeah right."

* * *

"Hey, Tancie?"

"I thought that you'd stop calling me that if I asked you out. Apparently, I thought wrong." He sighed wistfully.

She managed to control a snort from rising up. "Obviously. You thought very wrong. But that's not what I was going to say. Umm…" She held a finger to her bottom lip. "What was I going to ask…?" A long pause followed. Tancred raised his eyebrows. "I got it!"

"Wow. Elle, you are such a genius." He commented, hands raised in fake praise.

She grinned cheekily and winked. "You know it." She cleared her throat. "But anyways. I was going to say that this has got to be one of the boringest detentions I've ever had."

Tancred sighed, a hand thrown across his eyes in his 'misery' . He sniffled and sighed again. "I, m'lady, am hurt. Scarred."

She nodded absently, before taking his hand away. "You'll get over it. Although," Elle frowned. "You have this horrible habit to sigh a lot now. Am I that boring? I should be the hurt one." She wiped away a non-existent tear.

He laughed. "Well, no. It'll never be boring with you." Tancred smiled, slipping a hand over her shoulder and hugging her to his side.

Elle smiled, leaning into the embrace, then laughed. "Maybe Sandie's right. We are to lovey dovey." She threw a random paper at the curtain in the room. "Oh well. We're allowed to get up and run around right?" She asked.

"You've had detention before. You should know that."

"I know." She threw a pencil and it landed next to the sheet of paper. "But I'm just wondering. But if we can, then how'd we end up in this room? I've seen it everyday for the past week, and the week before that, and before that." Her head dropped onto the table. "It's just not fun in here."

"You haven't seen it Saturday or Sunday right? Or not every one of them."

She roller her eyes. "You know what I mean. But seriously, we ought to get out of here. It's a Friday night and we're sitting in a room that sucks the life out of children almost everyday of their lives." She glared at the nearest wall accusingly. "Damn you wall. Damn. You."

He laughed, standing up. "Fine. We'll go someplace else."

"Really?" Elle asked excited, jumping up with a grin plastered on her face.

"Really."

"Yesss." She whisper-yelled, throwing a personal little victory punch.

* * *

"No."

"What? Why not?"

Tancred looked away from her so he wouldn't fall for her stupidly pathetic, but also very tempting, puppy dog eyes, and faced the door. He hesitated for a second as she grabbed his arm, but repeated it firmly. "No."

Elle huffed, taking her arm back and crossing it over her chest. "Fine. Whatever." She grumbled.

He sighed, looking back down. "Well, you know, it's just that the ruins…" He coughed lightly.

"I know, I know." She sighed. "Just that curiosity got the best of me, and this is the perfect time to go in there."

Tancred looked at her confused, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. "How so?"

"I don't know. It just is. Like this little part of my brain keeps telling me to just run in there and explore for the whole night or something. Or maybe it's just the fact that we're stuck in this stupid castle and there's nothing to do save for talking to you." She paused for a moment, then her face brightened considerably. Her hands moved wildly in front of her as she stuttered. "Not that talking to you isn't fun or anything it'sjustthat…well you know uhh.." She scowled as he stifled a laugh.

"Alright, alright. I know." He said, a grin slowly spreading over his face. "But you know, there is always something we can do…"

"Hmm?"

"Up for a game of Monopoly?"

"What do you have that here?"

"Sander loves that game."

"Figures." She snorted.

* * *

"Dammit." Elle hissed angrily, digging through her wad of fake money. "Damn. It. All."

Tancred laughed loudly, holding an expectant hand. "I believe that would be," he pretended to fix a non-existent pair of glasses, 'balancing' them on his nose. "About $150 dollars. Cough it up."

Elle scowled, throwing a hundred dollar bill and a fifty at him. "It's not fair. I had to sit in jail for 3 turns while you rolled a ton of doubles and went around the stupid board and got a ton of money and bought every damn square this stupid board has and-"

"I believe that would be called a run on sentence. And there's still about half the board not filled with little homes." He chimed in, interrupting her grumbles. "And it's not my fault you pulled that card, and that you sold your 'get outta jail for free' card' for a measly $50."

"It's not my fault meh meh meh." She mocked, still frowning. "Whatever. This game's rigged."

Tancred rolled his eyes, sighing slightly. "Competitive much?"

"NO! I'm as competitive as a lion."

He gave her a blank look. She blinked back. It was silent for a few moments before he spoke lightly. "Elle?"

"Yeah?"

"Lions are really, really competitive. Like seriously, it's not even funny."

No one spoke until she huffed, turning away.

* * *

Elle yawned, stretching her arms in a cat-like position. Again, she yawned, blinking rapidly to get the last traces of sleep away from them. She turned her head, looking around her to see the other two girls who had detentions still snoring away. "How can they still be asleep? It's already like…7 o'clock." She murmured, looking at her clock. "Daarrnnn…I slept in."

Swaying slightly, Elle walked into the bathroom, grabbing a stack of clothes she set out the previous day. After a quick shower and the usual morning ritual, she stepped back out, refreshed, checking her watch. "7:30...mmm….something's supposed to happen. I think. What was it? There's no classes, no dragging Ols out, no-"

"NEWBURT!" A screech came knocking at the door. "Your father's here! Get up, and get out!"

"Oh! That was it." She smiled, grabbing her packed trunk. "Now all I gotta do is say bye to Tanc and I am out of here."

Nearly running to the boys dorm, Elle dragged her full trunk over the stairs, stopping at the door to take a breathe. She knocked.

No answer.

She knocked again.

Nothing.

Elle sighed. "Figures." Her hand reached out to the knob for a second then rushed back. "Wait, what if he's sleeping? Or in the shower?" She pressed her ear against the door, trying to hear the sound of water dripping. "Well, I don't think he's doing that, and he's a snore-er, so he can't be asleep, so-"

"Are you okay?"

Elle whipped her head around, so fast it hurt for a second. Blinking at the moment's pain, she looked up.

"Oh. It's you." She spat, seeing someone she'd rather not have contact with.

He shrugged. "Yeah. Yeah it is. So are you spying on your boyfriend or something?" He asked with eyebrows raised. "Because you know, if you are that'd be just a little bit…"

She rolled her eyes, hand still rubbing the joint between her neck and shoulder. "No, I'm not spying on him. Why do you care? Better yet? Why are you up anyways? Making some evil little scheme's are you? Or are you spying? Or-"

"Jumping to conclusions are we?" He asked amused, a quick grin turning on his lips. He raised a half empty glass in his hands. "Just went down to get some water, is all."

"Oh." Elle answered lamely, settling into the uncomfortable silence. She shifted her weight to lean on her right leg. "Umm...Well…"

"NEWBURT!"

Her head snapped up again, feeling the familiar, still painful jolt run down her spine. Wincing momentarily, Elle looked back at the boy warily. "Do me a favor? Tell him I'll see him a little bit?" She walked away before he could refuse.

For just one moment, Dagbert Endless felt a smile flicker over his face as he watched her rush away. And just for a second, he found himself disbelieving, something that didn't happen too often. Because just for a second, it wasn't his usual, cold-hearted smiles he wore as a mask…

_No. _He reasoned. _It was a mask. It had to be. Friends are pointless. Father even said so._

The drowner grimaced then. "Speaking of friends," He said to no one in particular. "Who the hell am I taking to the ball?" He slumped against the wall weakly. "Who indeed?"

* * *

"And my sweet returns home." Mr. Newburt announced, walking into their house with arms raised in joy. He inhaled deeply, then breathe out slowly. "Ah. The place even smells better when you're here."

It was pretty much silent, save for the sound of a nervous toe tapping the tile floors. Elle bit her lip, opened her mouth to say something, and closed it again.

"Fish belong in the sea Elle." He said lightly. "If you planned on turning into one, you should have told me sooner."

Elle looked up, blinking slowly. "What?" She asked confused.

"You resemble quite a large fish." He said. "Water-controlling is quite the useful endowment."

"But-"

"Just mopped the floor darling. I'd watch your step if I were you."

Elle looked down, not the least bit surprised to see a reflection of her father's smiling face staring back up at her from the floor. "Hello dad."

'Hello Elle. So what were you going to tell me?"

"I wasn't-"

"Fidgeting. Hands are twisting over and over. Lip biting, fishy movements. I think you're going to tell me something."

"You know me too well." Elle pouted, flopping into the couch. She sighed mellow dramatically, and grabbed a pillow to hug. "It's so not fair."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." He smiled, settling down across from her. Then he frowned seriously, sitting with his arms propped onto his knees. "So what's up?"

It was a few moments before she answered. "Can I go shopping?" She paused with obvious reluctance. "With Liv, and Elle, and Lauren?"

He blinked, nodding slowly before his eyes narrowed. "What's the pause about? Are you lying?"

"NO!" She rushed in, mortified. "I'd never do that to you dad. But err…umm…"

"I thought you hated shopping?" He said slowly.

Elle hung her head, burying it into the pale blue pillow. "I knew it would happen like this."

"What?"

"Nothing." She sighed, picking her head back up. She straightened, clearing her throat nervously. "Alright. I'll just come clean with it." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Dad. I-"

* * *

"-am with Elle."

"Sorry son? I didn't catch that." Mr. Torrson said, leaning towards Tancred as he drove closer to their chaotic home. "Can you repeat it for me?"

"Uh…sure." Tancred mumbled.

_I wasn't this nervous when I told him about Tracy._ He thought.

George sighed. _Tanc, that's because he didn't know Tracy and her dad. Also, you weren't really attracted to Tracy as much as you were attracted to the image of her._

_Yeah, I guess._ He considered the thought for a moment before opening his mouth. Then closing it. Then opening it once more.

"Just spit it out son." His dad said irritably. "I only have about 40 years left on me, and that's hoping your mom doesn't kill me before I hit 80."

Tancred chuckled. "Alright. So-"

"Does it have to do with a girl?"

"What?" Tancred blinked.

"Does it-"

"I know, I heard it the first time. But like…never mind. Yeah."

"Elle?"

"Yeah."

"Ball?"

"Obviously."

There was a momentary pause before: "So how're you going to tell your mom?"

"I was hoping you could help me with that." He said awkwardly.

Again, there was a moment of silence and then came Mr. Torrson's booming laughed. "Right. Your on your own Tanc."

The younger boy scowled. "Somehow, I expected that."

* * *

"So let me get this straight. Tancred sang to you and now you two are officially an item? Sugar please."

"Dad!" Elle whined, blushing madly, but handed it to him as she mixed the eggs. "The way you put it sounds awfully stupid."

"Well you can't say that that isn't what happened." He pointed out, using the mixing spoon instead of his finger.

She huffed, but smiled nonetheless. "Alright, you got me." She licked the tip of the spoon , ignoring his disapproving look. "But I can go shopping right? Liv says please."

"Oh yeah, the ball." Her dad said thoughtfully. "This is something the uptight Bloors threw together? A bit suspicious no?"

"I said that too," She admitted. "But I got over it since Tancred's little performance. I just figured 'hey, maybe they can change and do a little bit of fun once and awhile.'"

"Olivia?"

"The one and only. And she's the one who convinced me to tell you about Tancie."

"Mostly because it would get me to let you go right?"

"No comment."

It was quiet again.

Then: "What are we making anyways?"

"Shhh…Martha Stewart's talking to me." (1)

* * *

"He said yes?" Olivia's cheerful voice asked through the phone receiver. Elle could practically hear her bouncing with delight. Actually…she listened closer. Yep, if she listened close enough, she could here the rattle of many bangles jiggling on her friend's arms.

"Yeah. How about Emma? Can she go?"

"Oh yeah." The actress smiled brightly, though Elle couldn't see it. "I actually just got off the phone with her. Her aunt was seriously overjoyed."

Elle grinned, satisfied. "Great. I'll call Lauren we'll meet at…?"

"Go to the Pet's Café at around 12 o'clock. It's on Frog Street I think."

"You think?"

"It'll be hard to miss, but I'll see you tomorrow okay? I have to help mom make the skordalia."

"The what?" Elle asked, thought the line was already dropped. She sighed, dialing Lauren's number. Three rings later, it was answered.

"Hey Lauren…."

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I still hate me. I made it longish, not really. I hope this'll last you until next time I upload, and I definitely hope I haven't lost all my readers! XP.

I don't think many people got this so….(1)That's what my mom said once when she was reading a Martha Stewart cake recipe. It was really weird, but whatever.

I love any reader that would still be here, and am amazed with the fact that you'd actually stick around.

R&R!

~tubs. T-T

WORD COUNT: 3647


	24. Shoot 'em up

I know. I know. I promised I would try to get this out fast but….I'm SOOO sorry. I just got accepted into a higher math class (lucky me. Ugh) and it's been piling me up with work since I have to attend that class and my first class until the whole system gets figured out. And then I got accepted into Spanish classes, which start at 7:00 in the bloody morning. Why!?!? Dumb school. And, to make matters worse, I got a computer virus and had to get this thing fixed. It erased the previous chapter completely so then I had to do it all over again! Sigh…..

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"Are you absolutely sure this is the right place?"

Elle eyed the café critically, thinking about the oddness of it. After a moment, she shrugged. "I…suppose so."

Mr. Newburt and Elle stood staring at the place from across the street. The Pets Café was packed, jam-packed, with chattering people and a crazy assortment of animals ranging from normal German Sheppard's to mini ponies. Barks, howls, purring, neighs, and practically everything else Elle could think of came from the place, making passer-by-ers stare at the ridiculous amount of people stuffed in the place. In the front stood one of the biggest men Elle had ever seen in a Hawaiian style shirt, sunglasses, and shorts, arms crossed and a communicator in his ear. He nodded at the pedestrians and kept close guard over the restaurant, if it could be called that.

"That place has a doorman?" Her father asked, perplexed.

"Bouncers are…popular nowadays?" She responded, unsure of herself. Then she coughed slightly. "So uh, I'll see you later then."

"Yeah, I guess." Mr. Newburt gave her a small hug, still looking uncertain. "I'm picking you up where again?"

"A bookshop near the Cathedral. Shouldn't be too hard to find."

Mr. Newburt nodded absently. "Alright. See you kid."

"See you old man."

"No pet?"

The doorman stared hard at her, eyebrow cocked over in an amused arch. He peered down with one blue eye showing behind his dark shades. "Sorry, little girl, but no pet, no entrance."

Elle had to breathe a couple times to prevent herself from yelling at the man. _I'm not little. I'm not little. I'm like a friggen skyscraper. 5 foot 2 inches and a half is not little. _She exhaled then looked back up at him, which wouldn't have been so hard if the sun didn't shine directly at his shiny, bald head. "Okay, sorry sir, but can I please just get in, find my friends, who by the way invited me in here without telling me that I had to bring a pet, and then run out so I can verbally destroy her ego?"

He chuckled. "Sorry little lady-" she twitched, "-but no can do. It's just the rules. I don't make them up."

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Stroke of genius!

"Okay, so all I have to do is have a pet right?" She asked, grinning mischievously.

"Yes." He affirmed.

"I'll be right back."

With that, Elle ran to the nearest strip of grass and dropped down to her knees, in search of what she was looking for. She whipped her head around, seeing none lying around in the obvious, and cursed, reaching for a handful of grass. After pulling out almost a whole section of the little green stuff, she gave a triumphant shout, grabbing her prize, and running back over to the café.

"Hello, Norman right? Meet my pet. His name is Justin. He likes sitting around in dirt, getting trampled over by ants, and being stomped on by the human foot. Magnificent ain't he?"

Norman grinned. "There's nothing in the rulebook about inanimate pet's. You and your rock go on in, just don't break anything."

* * *

"Elle! Wow, you actually got here on time! That's great!" Olivia smiled, bounding over from their cluttered table to greet her. "Have you gotten taller? Wow, I never noticed. Oh, wow your hair looks so pretty good today-"

"Liv, cut the crap. Meet Justin." Elle blurted out boredly, holding out the dirt covered, gray rock in her hands. She glared accusingly at her friend. "So far, he thinks you're the worst aunt ever."

The actress grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry I didn't tell you. Norman's pretty strict about the whole pet thing. Just forgot about it."

Elle waved her nonchalantly, walking to the table with a small smile. She looked around then plopped down on Olivia's previous seat. "Hey, you guys. What brings you here?" She grabbed a piece of…something. It was brown, with little macadamia nuts tossed in it, so she supposed it was a brownie, but it tasted more like vanilla. Strange.

"Gasp. Are you saying that we…we're...we…"

"That we are…Unwanted?" The other boy finished, throwing a hand over his 'bruised' heart. "Oh, Sander, did you hear that? I feel so…so…unloved!"

Emma rolled her eyes, still playing with Gabriel's gerbil. "Hello, Elle. Nice to see you could make it."

"Hello Em. Hey Lauren, long time no see." Elle said, high-fiving Lysander's girlfriend. "So what are these goofs, save Charlie and Gabriel and Fidelio and umm…that one guy with the dog, doing here?"

Olivia huffed, sitting on Elle's lap. "Those goofs, which if you didn't notice what you said are only Tancred and Sander, are here because they have to pick out matching suits. Fidelio and Ben are here…to be here I guess. Don't remember why I made them come."

"Oh, I noticed. I said it on purpose. And hello Ben, I think I remember you from my old school."

"Really? I remember you too. The other outcast, right? This is Runner Bean by the way." He said cheerfully.

Elle sighed mentally. _The other outcast? How nice of him to say so. _"Right." Then she turned back to Olivia. "But why in the name that is all wonderful are they getting suits that match? That's kind of pointless isn't it?"

Again, Olivia huffed as she was pushed off Elle's lap. "No, it's not." She responded pointedly, voice going professional. "It's a formal ball and you ought to-"

"I don't get her." Charlie sighed, shaking his head.

"-do it right. Now, it's only proper-"

"Aye." Elle grumbled.

"-That you wear a dress that matches the shades of your date's-"

"Can someone remind me why I ever asked her out?" The traveler asked weakly, getting a slap over the head from his girlfriend.

"-tie. And it's because you know you love me." She finished, grabbing a stick of cheese.

Ben sighed, still petting his dog. "You have no idea. I swear, every conversation we had suddenly turned out to be 'do you think Livvy likes me?' It was sooo annoying."

Charlie reddened, but didn't deny it.

Tancred and Lysander laughed in unison, which, to Elle, after nearly a month of that had gotten more funny than creepy. The both stood and walked toward Charlie, one on either side of him as they each clapped a hand over a shoulder. With matching grins, they both started. "So."

"Yes, our little Charlie Bone's gotten himself all shaken up in-"

"A tornado of lurrrrvvveee!" Tancred cooed, pinching one of Charlie's fatty cheeks. "Ain't that soo-"

"Weird." Elle murmured to Lauren. "I swear they're like-"

"Like?" Lysander questioned, eyebrows raised.

"Uh….Like…..Hey look at the time!" She answered, staring at the non-existent watch on her hand. " We should really be heading out, you know. Clock's are ticking!"

* * *

"What about that one?"

"Ol-"

"OOOOH! No. This one!"

"Oli-"

She gasped again, pointing at a hot pink, mid thigh dress. "That one!"

"OLIVIA!" Tancred finally managed to interrupt, a flicker of annoyance passing through his eye and a small wind brushing against the nearby dresses. Elle clucked, rolling her eyes as she picked up one that had fallen over.

"Yes?" She muttered absently.

"Liv, Livvy, Olivia, whatever. You do realize that it's already like…3:00? We've been listening to you jabber on and on about this dress and that for almost THREE BLOODY HOURS! I swear, Charlie, Ben, Gabe, and Fido left for the arcade 2 hours ago and you didn't even notice! Bloody he-"

"He means," Lysander cut in smoothly, despite Tancred's heated glare. "He means that most of us have to leave at around 6, and from what I've heard, some girls can take ages to pick something out. No offence." He snuck a glance at the other girls. "So, to put it frankly, stop looking at every bloody dress you see and get on with it! No offence."

"OH!" She laughed sheepishly. "Right. I completely forgot we were here for that. Ahem. Well, I guess we should shop now." Instantly a fierce look crossed her face, an evil looking smile breaking through. Tancred and Lysander gulped, making some odd motions with their hands before running out of the shop.

"Uhh...we…Charlie…"

"Needs more tokens!" Lysander finished, hurrying his friend away. "We'll see you ladies later!"

As one, Elle, Emma, and Lauren glanced at each other and gulped. "I hate them." Elle whispered angrily.

* * *

"Olivia I'm not sure this is entirely nec-"

"Please, Emma. Just throw on the dresses so Ols can pick one and we can get out of here!" Lauren nearly yelped as another dress was thrown into her basket. She looked at Olivia who was flipping through the racks of dresses critically, scowling at some, grinning like a madwoman at others. "Um, Olivia darling, I think that we have enough to go by."

"Nonsense." The actress muttered absentmindedly, studying a grey floor length gown before putting it back on the racks. "We haven't even gone through half the store yet."

Elle cleared her throat, obviously disturbed by Olivia's scary attitude towards their shopping. "Ols, we've got to try them on soon or we won't have time to get the guys their…whatever they're buying. It's nearly 5:00 you know."

Olivia huffed, placing her hands on her hips as she studied the multitude of dresses each girl struggled to carry in their basket. She then looked at her own basket, which was stuffed to bursting, then sniffed. "I suppose we'll do." The other three girls simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, silently thanking the gods of everything that they could stop. "Okay, Now we try them on."

Immediately, their faces paled again.

* * *

"It's so…pink!"

"Elle dear, that's the point. You never wear that, so I'm making you start." Olivia sang. Lauren made some kind of sympathetic noise from her stall as she struggled into her own dress.

"I absolutely refuse to wear such an atrocious color!" Elle argued. "I'll wear anything but it. Hell, I'd rather wear yellow than that stupid blend of red and white. And I know you hate when I wear yellow. If you make me wear that, I'll wear yellow forever!"

Olivia cringed, zipping up the back of her dress. "Fine, fine. But only because we'll never get this done if you don't try anything on. I only got you a few right?"

"Not really, but I still have a lot that aren't … I only have like, seven more to try on you know." Elle mumbled.

"Good. Then we're almost done." The Vertigo chirped back. "How about you two? Doing okay?"

Emma mumbled something along the lines of 'I guess' and 'I have the same' but Lauren sighed. "If you call being strangled to near death by a stupid green halter 'doing okay', then yes, I'm doing splendid. I've got seven too."

"Great! Next round!" Olivia walked professionally into the dressing hall, scowling as the other three shuffled out boredly. "Posture Ms. Newburt!"

"Posture Ms. Newburt!" Elle mimicked in a squeaky voice under her breath. She made a vague gesture in the air right about where her friend's neck was.

"What was that?" The actress said sharply.

"Nothing." Lauren said quickly, a hand shooting up to cover Elle's mouth. Her friend shot her a menacing glare, which the former decided to ignore.

Olivia just nodded, looking about them again. "Yes, well, Emma, pink or green are your colors. I'd lean toward medium to pale pink. I believe I picked a color like that for you. Red looks fabulous on you Lauren, but I think that you'd look good in yellow too. Did I get one in yellow? I think so. Try it on soon. And Elle, don't wear orange. I t makes you look like an Oompa Loompa."

"But you- I - GRAHHH!" The elementalist stomped back into the changing room and threw on the red one that Olivia made her try. She scowled at the picture of smiling people in wedding décor taped on the stall. "What are you smiling at? Hmm? Ugh. Why would anyone in their right mind want to have a wedding? They have so many dresses and…Ugh."

"Next!" A chipper voice rang out again.

The rest of the dresses went about the same until the last ones. Olivia commented on Emma's colors, which were all a shade of green or pink, saying that they both looked a little too bright or pale and went against Lysander's girlfriend in brown, as it 'looked too plain on her'. She also gave her personal opinion on the red and yellow and green dresses that she picked out for Elle, which made it slightly ironic that she called them 'absolutely horrid pieces of fabric' and stated that 'no one in their right state of thought should ever pick that up.'

Finally, it was the last round. Each girl sighed, took a deep breath, and walked out. And each girl's eyes widened at the looks of the dresses.

"We should have tried these on first! Their stunning! Brilliant!" Olivia squealed as the other three gave each other subtle complements. "Elle, finally a good dress on you! It brings out your eyes perfectly! And Lauren, I told you that was your color. And Emma." She sighed. "You look like a princess."

Elle twitched, and would have doubled over in laughter had she not thought about what her friend would do to her if she wrinkled any part of the dress. Clearing her throat, she muttered a thanks and her eyes brightened considerably. "So we can go now right?"

* * *

"What are you doing? Your left! No, no, no! The other side. There you go. SHOOT! No! CHARLIE!"

"Fidelio shut up!" The traveler growled, his eyes never wavering from the screen. He aimed, and shot the zombie next to him before it could get to him, but missed it's partner as it lunged and swept a heavy arm at his character. "Hand me another token, quick!"

Tancred rolled his eyes with an amused grin at the display. Charlie and Fidelio had been stuck on the game for nearly the whole three and a half hours they had been there, shooting madly at the zombies and monsters as if they were actually there. They were stirring up quite the scene actually, with Fido yelling at Charlie for dying so much and Charlie shouting back in a heated debate. Lysander had taken Ben and Gabriel to play something else- probably something entirely classic like skee ball, but he had declined to go, instead going to sit on the rail of the stairs that overlooked the arcade.

Hey, it sure was funny, looked at the crazed looks and heated glares from passing people. And the boys' pathetic excuses? They were so…pathetically hilarious! What kind of excuse was 'Well, you're hair is brown!' when you were arguing about who killed the innocent? Why did he never have a camera when he needed one? This was some good comedy…and blackmail.

He shook his head as another woman pulled her daughter away from going to see what the whole spectacle was about. That had to be the twenty fourth with a daughter, by his count. Of course, there was already a horde of boys surrounding the machine and a whole lot of others staring from across the mall. The funny part was that neither boy had even noticed.

"Charlie, it's this way!"

"No, it's left. The wizard dude said so."

"The wizard dude is the enemy. Obviously he'd lead you away from the cave. It's this way!"

"Shut up Fidelio! It's not that- holy cow! Look at that thing! It's huge!"

"Charlie it's a trap! Don't- CHARLIE!"

"AHHH! OH MY GOD FIDELIO IT"S COMING AFTER US! KILL IT! KILL IT!!!"

He chuckled before deciding to take his leave, wondering if Elle was still in the dress shop. He might as well go check it out, since he ran out of extra money on one of those racing games. Like he knew what it was called. The only cash he had on him was for the suit he had to buy.

Meaning had to. If he didn't he'd be gutted alive by Olivia, or worse his mother. Women.

Tancred hopped down from the railing and walked to the vague direction of where he had no doubt the girls would still be at.

* * *

"Why do we need specific shoes?"

"Because you just do. And look, I promise it won't take long. The boys only need like half an hour anyways. That gives us a good 30 minutes to pick some out. And we know the colors and styles already. Elle your getting black sandals. Emma…well either sandals, heals, or flats. Either pink, white, or black. White flats probably. Completes the princess look. Lauren…I'd go with gold or black. Anything but boots and flats would work. I'm going with bronze heals. See? Ready."

After not being able to find a decent argument, Elle gave up on arguing like Emma and Lauren had after they'd left the shop with bags of dresses and accessories Olivia insisted they bought. They were just about to walk into the store when Lauren ran into a wall. Or actually a person.

"Oh, sorry ma'am. Didn't see- Oh, hey Lauren." Tancred said, hauling her up with a hand. "Emma, Olivia, Elle."

"Tancred." Olivia replied.

Emma waved.

Elle grinned. "Hello love. Finally, a distraction from Olivia's shoe nonsense."

He feigned a hurt look, and sighed, looking at Lauren. "Hear that? I'm a distraction. A distraction."

"Mhm, sure. But now you get to help me pick shoes. How fun!"

He groaned. "Bad timing."

Olivia hit him with her bag.

* * *

"Charlie! Get that guy! No, not that one. The one who's- Already?! How could you die this soon?"

"It's not like it's my fault. If you wouldn't shoot faster, I wouldn't have to kill all your enemies for you!"

"Well it isn't my fault! I tried to warn you. And I got the gun with the messed up trigger."

"Well-"

"Hello boys. I'm afraid we're going to have to tell you to leave. You're causing quite the ruckus."

Both turned around abruptly, frightened. Then they both relaxed. "Lysander, seriously man." Charlie said, hand over his chest. "Heart attack."

"Sorry Charlie. I made him do that." came a feminine voice. From behind Lysander stepped out Olivia Vertigo, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh…hey Liv." He mumbled, suddenly shy. "Why're you here?"

She grinned fiercely, winking at him. "Because, Charlie dear, it's time to see you in a suit!"

"I'm sorry, man. I tried to stop her." Tancred muttered from the background, sounding in pain.

"Tancred don't talk! I think your head's bleeding." Fidelio's eyes turned fearful at Elle's words.

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I don't know if you get the ending. If you don't you can tell me and I'll gladly explain it to you, but it won't be as funny. I know that much. Sigh.

I'm still sorry about how all my updates have been rather…spaced out recently. Schools being a b star star star star h.

I don't own the CotRK series either.

R&R.

~tubs.


	25. It's Thursday!

Okay, so this chapter's a little bit different. It's an entry from Olivia's diary! Whoo! Haha… Anywho. It is from OLIVIA'S point of view, for the record, so don't get that confused and yell at me please. I've also come to terms with myself to accept that I will be updating really slow. I don't like it, but oh well. Can't be helped…

**Charlie Bone belongs to Nimmo!**

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_Dear Diary,_

_Oh my! It's been quiet a while hasn't it? Nearly 4 days! That's unacceptable!_

_But, as far as I'm concerned, I've had quiet a busy time. In my other update, I believe it was almost 2 weeks ago, or so I think it was, I told you the ball was coming up. Around that time._

_Beware, this entry will take up a bit of pages from you're book, Diary. I didn't really want to make it long, I swear. But this past week has been so busy, I have to write all of it down for you._

_As far as weeks at Bloor's went, this one had been a blur. And I know what blurs are like. I'm an actress for Pete's sake. Speaking of which, who is Pete? Is he a saint or something? Why is it his sake? Why not on-_

_I'm getting off track. Anyways, I'll start with Monday._

_  
Monday, as usual, had a late start. Everyone was groggy, sleepy as bears from hibernation. As we went off the bus though, things began changing. _

_As usual, I saw Lysander, Tancred, and Elle together, although the last two were a little closer than usual. Then again, they always stood a little closer than other people did. I wonder if they ever noticed that. No, actually, they probably didn't. Both of them are to oblivious to notice something like that. _

_It was also not a surprise to see darling Charlie (because you should know that after a long while liking him from a distance he finally asked me) chatting by the blue bus with Billy and Fidelio, his hair looking a tad bit messier than normal. Morning rush I suppose. I wonder when he wakes up. Or goes to sleep for that matter. It's not good for you to stay up long or to get less than the recommended 8 hours. It's recommended for a reason._

_Anyways. What was a surprise though, was that a certain little blonde and a certain…well, he's rather tall actually. But the point is, Emma and Gabriel were missing from the group of people. Honestly, I never expected them to move so quickly. Running away together. Next thing you know those two are going to elope to Japan! Haha. Just kidding Em. But it was rather serious at the time, and as I stepped with my brown, studded flats of the bus, my hair died blonde with subtle hints of brown and blue by the way, I immediately noticed this. And I did the thing that everyone would naturally do. Because it's natural._

_I ran over to Elle and jumped into her arms, where she promptly fell over, taking me with her. Later she had angrily told me she hadn't been expecting it, but of course I didn't believe her. But back on track, when Tancred and Sander, being the great people they are, stooped over from their super tallness and helped us up, I started babbling about how my little Emma and Gabriel were gone missing. _

_(If I may add a little note here, diary, I'd like to add that Tancred and Lysander have got to be giants. Granted, there are taller thirteen year olds, and Lysander is taller than his buddy, but still. How tall is Sander? He's like, 5 foot 15 jillion inches. Just kidding. I asked Elle just now and she said 5' 7". Weird one, Elle is. Always collecting random, sometimes quite useful fact. And Lauren's rather tall too, for the record. She's five foot five inches. Tall one she is. And both are still growing. Anyways. Tancred's about 5' 6", according to Elle. Haha, she's like, 5' 2". Poor thing. Charlie's only two inches taller than me. That kid hit a growth spout since Elle came, did I tell you that? And Gabriel seems to be only a little over 4 from Emma, since she's about only an inch shorter than me. Hey. Figure this out. If I'm one inch shorter than Elle, how tall are Gabriel, Charlie, and Emma? And me. Don't forget me.)_

_(Just kidding. Don't do that diary. If you try to figure it out, you'll hurt yourself. ;) _

_(If you already did, though, then you might want to check your answers huh? Bad diary. I told you not to do them. But anyways, Charlie is five feet three inches, Gabriel is about five feet four inches, Emma is five feet, and I am five feet one inch. Yay!)_

_(Sorry diary. I just did my math homework, and that stuff tends to stick. Oh, and sorry. This isn't a short note is it? I'll move on.)_

_Anyways, when I told them that, they immediately ran to Charlie and Billy and Fidelio, dragging me along. With panicked gestures, Elle began explaining what I had told her, not including my crazy theory about dragons kidnapping them, and the whole lot of us agreed to search the place for them, and so we did. I went with Charlie, Fidelio with Billy, and Elle with Tanc and Sander. Obviously._

_Guess who found them?_

_The giants and the tiny fairy did. If this doesn't ring a bell, then Elle and Sander and Tanc did. But that's only because they're giant. And a fairy. _

_Apparently those two were only sitting by a tree, blushing like little cutie dolls and talking about their chaotic weekends, even though they'd seen each other the day before. I must say, they sure are shy around each other. Still. And yet they've known each other for a long time, and they got together last week. How cute. 3_

_Anyways. So that's all the excitement of Monday._

_  
Tuesday was a big shocker. By big, I mean big. Gigantic. Huge. Enormous.._

_You get the idea. _

_It started simple, just like every other day. Emma and Elle and I walked up to the boys dorms to wait for our friends, who, I'll have you know, take nearly as long as me to get ready! Isn't that a surprise? You never would've guessed, although they deny it, of course. Apparently there are a lot of boys in each dorm and everyone wakes up late. Charlie's explanation. I don't believe him though. Ahem. Well. When they came out, we all walked to the cafeterias in our pairs (Charlie and me, Emma and Gabe, Tanc and Elle with Lysander) and separated to our cafeterias. But that's when I saw something that scared the bejeebez out of me. _

_Who in their right minds would ever ask the twins out? Really, now. That's just strange. Those two hardly even talk, for goodness sake, and they emit an evil aura everywhere they touch! So I suppose it makes some sense that two bullies were asking them out…_

_Yes, indeed. Jason Richman and Christian Lanz were the two most popular, and yet annoying gits that ever stepped foot on Bloor's. Almost as bad as Joshua's high, nasally voice. They were in separate grades of course, Chris in mine and Jason in Elle dear's, but they were both known throughout the whole school. Sometimes with a good reputation (I.e. popular, 'handsome', etc.) but normally it was more towards the not so good. And yet, here they were, standing in front of the Branko's, spitting out words of 'will you go out with me?'._

_Now being a drama student, it's just not in me to avoid this. So I used my recently acquired skills of sneaking about and slid into the wall next to me to hear what was going on._

_I don't remember the words exactly. It was in fact two mornings ago, and I'm not exactly about to remember every single detail. I do remember, however, the voices of the two boys, which were nervous I had noted with surprise, asking them to the ball. And I also remember their responses._

"_You better be wearing black." One of them had said._

_Honestly, that's it. I swear. Weird, right? What kind of answer is that?_

_That was the weirdest part of the day, but there was still other news going on._

_Out of the 300-400 students attending Bloor's, there were, by my census. 127 couples that were currently together, with no signs of breaking up. That's a less than half, but I do say that that 254 students in relationships is a lot. And I didn't count those who had a partner from a different school. _

_Also, in other news, another endowed got with someone. At first break, Emma told me the strangest thing. Joshua Tilpin was holding hands with Rosetta Love. That's right. I-get-things-stuck-to-my-big-head got with Ms. Prissy-prissy-proper. It's strange, honestly, especially because when I had checked to see the news myself, I had almost laughed myself to death from seeing Rosetta picking things from her boyfriend's head. And yet every time she put the scraps down, they just flew back on. It was absolutely hilarious, I assure you._

_But Elle beat her. With amazingly wide arm movements which I'm sure she got from me, she announced that she had tripped on dust. A-mazing. I wish I could do that._

_Not._

_  
Wednesday was worse. _How_, you may be asking. I'll tell you why. Because fishy boy was spotted with someone._

You're joking_, you're probably thinking right now. _You just can't be serious.

_Oh but darling, I am. In fact Diary, it was with someone so unexpected, I lost my appetite for that breakfast. It was…shudder…horrifying. With all honesty._

_Dagbert Endless was with Ariel Simmons. Now that I think about it, I find it ironic that the prince of the sea got with someone named Ariel. Isn't that the little mermaid's name? To bad his name isn't Eric. That would have been funny. Whatever. I don't know. But anyways. The smelly, blue-green haired, crazy (although I must admit his eyes are a marvelous shade!) Dagbert was walking with smiles and sunshine, red-head Ariel. Hah, another piece of irony. _

_Now, if you ask me, he had all the signs of not wanting to be with her: dragging his feet, grunting at every question in response, the works. But he still was with her. I really wish I knew how, but I won't pry…yet. _

_Oh, but I really do want to know!_

_  
Today, Thursday, was chaotic. It wasn't a big topic , since no one cared who Dorcas Loom went with, but I hear it was with some boy named Ricky Stewart. Ewwie. Poor Ricky. But, anyways. It was a mess. People from just about any party place I could think of were rushing about everywhere, and I sincerely think that the Bloor's are actually making an effort for this. I mean, they bought balloons, streamers, and even confetti that was sprinkled all over the floor. Can you believe that!? The sparkle clean floors of Bloor's Academy were littered with scraps of colored paper! Banners hung everywhere, and I think I saw that stereos were brought out of these big black cars. They even brought out the fancy chairs and circle tables Charlie had told us about from the Hundred Heads' Ball! Isn't that strange._

_Food was cooking too. I could smell it, and to put it quite frankly, it smelled delicious._

_But I really should stop this now. Tomorrow is the ball, and we, quite surprisingly, have no classes. In fact, we have the choice to go home! I suppose it's because the Bloor's don't want fights to break out between girls who ruined dresses or something. Maybe it's because they don't want huge electric bills from the amount of curlers, straighteners, and blow dryers that people will be using, but I'm happy anyways. All of us girls are meeting up at my house, because I obviously insisted on doing our hair. And get this: Elle's dad's renting us a limo! _

_Haha, you thought. No, he's not, but he has the nicest car, so he's our escort._

_I really must be getting to sleep. I don't want bags for the ball!_

_3 Olivia._

_p.s. I can still hear them setting up!_

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Yeah. I don't like this chapter much, but I can't really think of any ways to redo it without making it look like a mess. I'm sorry.

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count: 2108


	26. The Ball : Lamps and Door Bells

Guess what this chapter is..! I'll give you a couple choices. Here:

a) Uncle Paton goes to Canada

b) Grandma Bone trips on the stairs and dies

c) The ball begins

d) Fidelio eats meat.

…It's obviously C. I mean, A, maybe, but I doubt he'd get away from Julia, and Grandma Bone wouldn't go down that fast. Fidelio is (if I remember correctly) the vegetarian, so UNLIKELY!

Anywho. Let the story commence!

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That day, in Elle's opinion, started quite oddly indeed.

It was the normal time for Elle to get up, just around the time where the sun actually starts shining through the bleak and bleary windows of Bloor's Academy. When the room starts heating up a little bit and the birds began chirping. When the room should have been quiet.

But…it wasn't.

As Elle yawned, opening her eyes a little bit, she noticed some one rushing around the room. She threw off her covers and rubbed at her eyes, brushing away the small dust (or whatever accumulates there when you sleep). After her senses began clearing up from the effects of sleep, she began looking around and noticed that, in fact, everyone, except herself, was buzzing about the small space, grabbing things and dumping them into their variously colored suitcases. Girls muttered to themselves and yelled at their friends, asking things like "Do you have my…" or "…Where's my shirt!?"

"How did I sleep through that?" She muttered to herself, shaking her head at the craziness and volume of the room.

"How indeed." Olivia said, plopping a black suitcase onto Elle's bed.

"What are you doing…with my suitcase? Did you pack it or something?"

Olivia rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue. "Honestly, how do you forget this kind of stuff? Look, you have to remember. That's a demand. Today is?"

"Friday. The…uh…I don't remember the date. But did you pack it?"

Olivia sighed before telling her. "The fifteenth."

"Right." Elle nodded, still confused. "And..? You packed it right?"

"You can't be serious." Olivia stared at her friend in shock. The actress's brow furrowed in frustration and she placed both hands at her waist. Elle was on the verge of telling her that she'd get stress wrinkles for that, since the actress always berated her for always stressing out her forehead, but decided against it.

"Afraid so." It was the truth after all. No one could lie to Olivia. _Well_, Elle reasoned, _they probably could, but that would be mighty hard._

"Elle, dear, I can understand you're forgetful. And yes, I packed it." Olivia said impatiently, then her eyes grew wild. She sat on the bedside and began fiddling with a lamp innocently. "But honestly! Today is important! Elle, TODAY IS THE BALL!"

* * *

"Tancred."

The said boy grunted, rolling over to avoid a second poke.

"Tancred." He got it anyways.

Again, he rolled, but deciding that maybe the other side of his bed would protect him from the mysterious invader.

"Hey. Taaancred."

He almost growled. Almost. He stopped himself before he did though, because if he actually did growl, then that would have been weird. Instead he cracked open an eye and wasn't all that surprised to see Lysander's frowning face over him, a stick from who knows where in his hand. He discreetly moved back again so the stick wouldn't poke him again. "What do you want? I am trying to get some sleep here you know." Bleh. His voice sounded all thick and groggy.

Lysander's frown deepened. He sighed, and sat on the edge of the nightstand. "Tanc, I realize that you love to have your beauty sleep-"

"Quit calling it that!"

"-but you seriously have to get up. Now. Or else we're all going to be gone by the time you pack up."

Tancred laughed, although it sounded hoarse and hardly like his normal one, and punched his friends knee lazily. "Sander, it's only Fri-" Almost comically, his eyes widened. "..day."

Tancred jumped out of bed, rushing about the room. "Shoot, shoot, shoot, dammit, ughh."

Lysander laughed at his friends antics. He threw a bottle of hair gel at him, and was hardly surprised to see it, miraculously, be caught by his friend, who happened to be moving at the speed of lightning. Or maybe not. He should ask Tancred about that later. Who would know lightning better than the Torssons?

Anyways, it was getting boring watching Tancred blur throughout the room, grabbing things and throwing them into the suitcase that made it's way onto his bed, so Lysander walked over to his own bed to finish packing. He looked at the contents of his bags, and finding nothing missing, decided to play with his shoelace. He was that bored.

_You know, _he thought, squinting a little bit. _If you look at the little end part like this, _he tilted his head to the right, _and you squeeze it really hard and you squint a little bit, it looks like a marshmallow!_

"Okay, I'm done!"

Lysander looked up, seeing the room in chaos, but Tancred standing proudly by his bed. His bag was laying at the edge of his bed, nearly ready to fall over, and he had actually made the bed look somewhat presentable. That was saying something. Then he looked at Tancred and nodded. "Yep. I suppose you are. So, Spider Man, would you like to join me for some flies?"

Tancred flushed and fished out some regular clothes from his backpack. Quickly, he changed, and threw the pajamas into his opened pack. "Okay, now I'm done."

"Your hair is done too? I mean, you can walk out like that, but it's a mess."

Tancred groaned. "I'd like to tell you that you make my life way harder than it ought to be."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Haaaansel and Greetel got lost in the forest, it was so dark and bitterly cold. They caaaame to a little gingerbread house-"

"Olivia, please quit singing. It's giving me a headache." Elle moaned, clutching her head in faux-pain. No. It was real.

The actress huffed. "But I have to practice for the play! And, please. You know you love my singing."

"I do." Elle muttered. "But when you knock out on your bed because your friend hit you on the head with a lamp, it starts to hurt a little bit."

"Well sorry." Olivia rolled her eyes. "You were the one who forgot that the ball was today."

"Violence isn't the answer children," Emma said absentmindedly, sketching on her notebook.

"Yes, because it's the only way!"

Elle landed with an 'oomph!' as Olivia, for probably the millionth time, pounced on her. Immediately, she tried to shake her off, but the other girl ended up to heavy, and she stumbled to the floor.

"Ughh…"

Olivia stood up swiftly, jumping from Elle's back and accidentally stepping on the victim's right hand as she continued her little excited fit. She hardly noticed though.

"Err. Elle are you alright?" Tancred asked curiously, seeing her twitch on the floor. "Do you…need any help?"

"Don't wake sleeping lions. Martians will fly," Emma muttered unhelpfully, still sketching. She hadn't even looked up.

"No." Elle spat out. "I'm fine. Peachy. Spiffing!"

"Okay, just you know, you are on the floor and all…Here."

She sighed, and accepted his hand. "Sorry. Prats just go around jumping on your back and you don't even get to get a warning. Makes life harder than what it should be." A heated glare was cast over in Olivia's direction, though she didn't notice as she was too busy chatting with Charlie.

Tancred laughed spitefully. "I know exactly what you mean." Another glare was sent, though to Lysander, who noticed it but wisely chose to ignore the gesture anyways.

"So are you ready for the ball?" He asked Elle, walking to the cafeterias for breakfast.

She shrugged.

Tancred eyed her warily. "Is that a no? Cause you don't have to go you know… Well, actually you do, but if you feel like-"

"Tancred, shut up. It's not your fault. Just, you know, I don't really want CERTAIN PEOPLE knocking my brain apart with a brush. Or lamps for that matter." She smiled wryly, and sent another glare toward Olivia, who noticed this time and laughed. Olivia then winked and turned back to chatting with Charlie, who blushed a little as she grabbed his hand. Cheesy much?

Tancred shrugged. "Sucks for you!"

"Why you-"

He took off running backwards, awkwardly but making faces at her. He laughed as she failed to catch up.

Then she fell over giggling as he hit a wall.

* * *

"NO! I don't want to go!"

"Elle, please. We don't have time for this!"

Elle shook her head fiercely, her hands still wrapped tightly around Tancred's wrist as the actress tried to drag her off. "NO! Tacie, Sandie! Save me!"

Both shook their heads. "Nope."

"Especially 'cause you called me Sandie." Lysander added, an evil grin playing across his lips.

"But- but-"

"Elle, just go!" Tancred said, exasperated, His wrist was really starting to hurt; Liv tugs hard, and Elle's tight grip didn't help much either. "You know you'll never get away, so you might well just let Olivia take you home and get you all dolled up for the ball." He winked. "And," He muttered as an after though, "You could try doing it without hurting anyone else."

"NO!"

Olivia finally let go, throwing her arms up in the air from exasperation. "I give up!" She shouted to the sky. "Honestly! You are acting like a two year old! Gosh, I wonder what I'm going to do on your wedding day? Tancred's arm will probably be pulled off!"

The couple choked on air, and Elle immediately let go. She flushed bright red, and was about to yell at Olivia, when the actress made a triumphant noise. "Aha! I knew it would work!" She grabbed Elle's arm and proceeded in marching the protesting girl to the awaiting bus.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Lauren looked at the paper in her hand, then at the mailbox, which was lavishly decorated with some odd design. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but saw the numbers boldly written under it. "413. Yep. This is it."

She, hesitantly, walked up the driveway to the doorstep, and paused before knocking. She pressed her ears closer to the door and could clearly hear high, shrill feminine cries ringing through the house. She heard a loud CRACK! and then the screaming stopped.

…Was she at the right place?

Judging by how the numbers matched up and how the house was painted and the amazing garden in front, she supposed it should be.

_Who else would have this crazy assortment of flowers? _She thought. _And who else could pull off this crazy assortment of colors? That was probably the telly. Nothing more._

With a jerky gesture, she placed her fist at the door and knocked. Then she pressed the purple button on the frame and bells began chiming loudly. The ground shook slightly.

Door bell? Wasn't that a bit much for just a door bell?

More crashes, bumps, and shouts were heard, although none as loud as before, and the door opened. Huffing, Olivia looked up. Then her face brightened considerably.

"Lauren! Good to see you finally here! You came a little too late to calm Elle down, unfortunately, but you're still ready to help right? Oh wait, where are my manners? Come in! Come in! "

A little shocked, and slightly disturbed, Lauren walked into the hall, Olivia waltzing in gracefully besides her. The actress grinned good-naturedly and smiled. "Follow me. I would offer you one of my awesome tea flavors, or cookies, or whatever happens to be in my fridge at the moment, you know all that jazz, but we have a bit of stuff to get to. Do you get me? Oh, here's our stop!"

After walking up an interesting design of stairs, and passing intricately painted frames with portraits of people in them, they arrived at a vibrant purple door. It was shaking slightly, and the sounds of panic came from it. Heavy breathing, rushed footsteps, and crashes could be heard.

Olivia opened the door, and Lauren could clearly see Emma rushing around nervously, collecting pillows and dropping things as she hit them. The second she heard the door open, though, she jumped into Olivia's arms, which made Lauren fear the situation even more since it was such an un-Emma like thing to do.

Olivia fell over.

Lauren couldn't help but feel a bit smug. After having the girl complain about how no one ever stayed standing after she jumped on them, she now knew the terrible feeling…oh wait.

"Whoa, people should jump on me more. The whole falling thing is pretty fun!"

_Damn. Not to mention that that sentence sounds awfully strange._

"Olivia!" Emma's sweet little voice squeaked. "I don't know what to do!"

"About what?" Lauren asked curiously.

Olivia shrugged. "Just prop her up on some pillows or something. I can work from there."

"Work on who?" Lauren persisted. "And why would you have to work like that? And what are you working on?"

Waving her hand nonchalantly, Olivia strutted toward the middle of the room. "Oh nothing. It's just that Elle was being a bit…uncooperative, so I knocked her out with a lamp. No big deal. And she isn't complaining!"

If you asked her, it's quite possible that Lauren would tell you she feared for her life. And she wouldn't be joking.

* * *

"Ow." Elle mumbled, one hand on a particularly aching spot on the right side of her head. "What the heck? It feels like I slept on a pile of books on something."

"Oh, not quite. But I didn't have enough pillows so we had to use my clothes to hold you up. Maybe some of the larger decorations were pressed up against your head."

Her head whipped around so fast it hurt, but she gaped at Olivia anyways. The said girl was painting her nails some color Elle had probably never heard of and giant curlers were stuffed into her head. Elle felt her own, which, thankfully, felt normal. Sort of. But that was better than it being completely off right?

"Liv, why am I….no. What am I doing on the floor? And why do I have a massive headache? Does it have anything to do with lamps again?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Although, I'm not quite sure about that whole again thing. Don't go into detail, please. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one." A familiar voice said. Elle turned to see Lauren blow drying her hair. It was amazing how quiet the thing was. She eyed the yellow dress that Lauren slipped on.

"You look all nice and pretty." Elle replied. "And do you mind explaining?"

"Thanks. Well, from what I'm told, you were being a little…uncooperative, I believe that's the word she used. And you have to admit, you probably were. So Olivia got frustrated and decided to knock you out with a lamp so that you wouldn't be able to complain as she messed with your hair and makeup and whatnot." Lauren shrugged. "I would of helped you but I wasn't here until after you were…hit. Emma was hyped up in panic to do anything."

Elle glared at the actress, who smiled sheepishly in return. Deciding against arguing though, she sighed and asked,. "What's the time?"

"Oh, just around 5:30."

"Wait, what? Doesn't the ball start soon?"

Olivia nodded. "Yes, indeed it does, Elle dear."

It was silent for a moment.

Then: "Well why didn't you wake me up sooner!? I kind of have to get ready you know!"

"I know." Was the only answer she got.

This confused Elle even more. This was Olivia-who-takes-a-full-bloody-hour-getting-ready-for-school right? Then why was she so calm about having only around 20 minutes (since her dad was coming 10 minutes before the ball started) to get dressed or whatever?

Being the blunt person she was, Elle pointed that out. Olivia nodded. "Yes, we do only have 20 minutes left. But, if you think about it, it'll only take about 10 minutes for us to get dressed so we have this extra time to relax."

It dawned on her then. Elle smiled slyly, eyebrows raised. The effect would have been greater had she been able to raise only one, but that trick was far too advanced for her. "Oooh, is wittle Owivia nervous? How cwute!"

Olivia batted away the hands that were reaching for her cheeks, muttering something about ruining her hair.

Lauren laughed. Then it clicked.

"Hey, where's Emma?"

"I'm in the bathroom," she called from…well the bathroom.

"Oh good. I thought Ols hit you too." Elle thought about 'relaxing' for a moment, but thought against it, knowing she'd never be ready in time. So she grabbed her dress, which was hanging on Olivia's closet doors, and announced, "Olivia, I am finding your other bathroom and am going to change. You ought to do the same thing too."

* * *

"Oh my great friggen Batman. What have they done to my head?"

Elle's eye twitched as she took it in. Her eyes were rimmed in a thin line of black, eyeliner or something like that. After closer examination, she could feel…something on her cheeks, but whatever it was she didn't have a clue. All she knew was they looked shinier and brighter. Lip gloss, she could identify that much, was on her lips, and though she longed to wipe it off, she knew she'd be massacred by her dramatic friend, and no doubt Lauren too. Some stuff was on her eyelids too. It was a dark blue. It was like, eyeshades. No, wait. Eye shadow. Yeah.

Oh, blame her for not giving a care about makeup.

The most surprising feature for her was her hair. It didn't look bad at all. It wasn't ever that long was it? She had distinctly remembered it being shorter, although, it had been a while since she left it down. It was normally in a ponytail or something…

…Nah, it couldn't be that long! Sure, she hadn't got a hair cut since the year before, but it was only a little below her jaw about 2 months ago! Surely that wasn't enough time for it to grow like this? It's rather impossible, right?

It was now waved neatly, her side bangs somehow turned straight and in a nice poof that covered her forehead. It was shiny and weird to see it like that. Awfully strange.

Really.

But she couldn't do anything about that.

So she slipped on the dress, and was pleased to find that it was actually comfortable. It didn't feel too clingy or loose, or too weird since it wasn't pants. That was good, she ultimately decided.

Now about the hair…

* * *

Olivia was mentally breaking down, although she appeared fine. It's an actor thing.

Inside, she was freaking out. Thoughts kept popping into her head, and she just couldn't stop them! Mostly they were random tidbits of information, or suggestions on how to better her hair or something completely irrelevant like that. But the ones that made her mentally squirm (she would never actually squirm! It'd give her away.) were seriously bothering her.

_Charlie's really a great kid. He's such a great guy. So why'd he pick me? Why not someone like…like…that one girl! That one girl with the hair in his math class. What was her name again? Oh like I'm supposed to remember this stuff. But what if he bails? No, no. He wouldn't do that would he? What if he really does like that girl in math class? Oh…that's not good to think about Olivia! You know, I think my hair should be curly. No wavy. No curly. No. Well, it's already in curlers, so curly? Ugh. What does it matter. Charlie won't care. That stupid bloke I hate him! Nope. That's a lie. Wait, that's not my voice…_

"So Elle was right wasn't she? Olivia's got the jitterbugs. Amazing. Never thought I'd see the day." Lauren smirked, fluffed her hair for one last time (that girly girl) and walked over to her friend's desk.

Olivia laughed nervously and ran to her closet. "No, I was….was just wondering if I should…how would you know?"

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Please. You do realized you've been muttering to yourself for ages now right? And by the way, honey, I'd go with some tight-ish curls, if you know what I mean."

Olivia does not blush easily. Maybe it's one of the traits of being a natural born actress, or it might have just been her personality. But when that girl blushed, she blushed. Not a little red dot, nuh-uh. She looked like a bloody tomato.

Shakily taking a breath, Olivia nodded. "Right. I guess you're right. I mean if you weren't right then you wouldn't know about my waves-or-curls debate huh? Or maybe you're just psychic! Like Gabriel, but you don't have to touch clothes! Actually, now that I think about it, that kind of psychic ability wouldn't be anything like Gabriel's would it? I mean, he just has to touch clothes and bam, he knows how that person is feeling and he feels it too. You psychic-ness is completely different. It's more like-"

"Olivia, you're rambling."

"Not the point."

"No, it isn't." Lauren considered. "The point is that Charlie's waiting up for you and you only have your make up done. You haven't done your hair, your dress is still hanging, and that box is getting real comfortable with your shoes. So go clean up okay?"

"But you don't know that!" Olivia answered frustrated. "What if he isn't?"

Lauren smiled gently, walking over to Olivia to pat her shoulder. "Trust me."

Sometimes, people just needed to be looked in the eye.

It really does work.

* * *

"I'm finished! Curling is messy work, Liv, I don't know how you do it."

Emma walked out of the bedroom's bathroom. She twirled around, showing off her dress, which fluttered around in a small circle. Smiling shyly, she asked the question that all little girl's end up asking one day in their lives. "So, how do I look?"

Olivia laughed, adding the finishing touches to her hair. After a sprits of (obviously foreign) hair spray, she turned around to face her friend. A sudden, wide grin crept it's way over her face. "You look absolutely adorable."

Emma blushed, and laughed quietly. "Thank you, I suppose. You look stunning yourself, if I can say so."

Olivia rolled her eyes humorously. "Don't I always?"

They shared a laugh, then Lauren came in, dragging Elle with her. Elle kicked, muttering something, but was unable to reach whatever she was reaching for since her friend had her arms in a human handcuff. "Now Elle, if you keep doing that, I'll have to duct tape your hands together. And you wouldn't like that very much would you? No, you wouldn't."

"Don't answer for me!" Elle grumbled, still trying to reach upwards.

The two 12 year olds sighed. "What's she doing now?"

"Well, I was walking into the bathroom to check on our little angel when," Lauren paused for effect.

"Well? Go on. What'd your angel do this time?" Elle asked sarcastically.

"Well, our little Newburt here was busy messing with, you will not believe this Olivia. She was messing with her hair."

"WHAT!?"

"What do you mean what?" Elle snapped. "I was just trying to figure out what crazy thing you did with my hair to make it this long."

"You were messing with the hair I spent a whole hour trying to tame! That's what!" Olivia said disapprovingly.

"Well, I'm sorry, but my hair was not this long before I got hit in the head with the second lamp today."

"Actually it was!" Emma piped. "I didn't know either, I swear Elle. But when Olivia took of that tie you always wear, your hair just tumbled out and it was, surprisingly rather long. I always though it was around a bit off your chin. Believe me, it would be longer if it wasn't curled that way. Oh and, you and Lauren look rather nice too."

Just as she was about to answer, the ground started shaking, and the clear sound of bells rang through their ears. It lasted long enough for all the girls but Olivia to fall to the ground in shock. "What was that!?" Elle demanded as soon as it stopped.

"My door bell? Obviously."

"Obv- NO! That's a bit much for a door bell isn't it?"

"Well, you and Emma have been through it already, I don't know why you're acting so surprised."

"I was knocked out!"

"In my defense, I was busy panicking. Elle could have been hurt."

"Your door bell's creepy." Lauren muttered.

Olivia shrugged. "After a while, you get used to it. It's rather comforting."

"And your bed smells like lilies." Elle muttered, sarcasm dripping through each word.

Olivia brightened. "You noticed! Well, I ought to answer that before they ring again."

The ground shook. Again.

* * *

"Well, well, well. That's quite a lovely dress you have there Lauren."

She flushed slightly. "Thanks."

He nodded and turned to the girls in brown and pink. "And you two are Olivia and Emma, correct? Elle's mentioned you both, but I'm not sure who's who."

"I'm Emma." The said girl answered, smiling pleasantly.

"Olivia Vertigo. Pleasure to meet you." Olivia grinned. "Well, don't count on me always looking like this though."

Mr. Newburt chuckled. "Oh yes. Elle's told me about your habits."

"Dad."

"Oh don't whine darling." He turned around to look at her. His eyes widened, mouth opened slightly. "Elle? Is that really you?"

She grinned devilishly. "Nope. I'm the muffin man. I ate your daughter so that I can look like her charming good looks and bask in her greatness."

Mr. Newburt chuckled. "Good. Cause I thought for a second that my daughter was actually turning pretty! What a nightmare that would have been."

Scowling, Elle slapped him lightly. "Thanks Dad. I love you a bunch."

"So it is her!"

They all laughed at this, but them Mr. Newburt smiled warmly, stepping back to admire all of them. "Honestly though, you ladies look lovely tonight. And I know who you got your looks from Elle."

"Mom?"

"Nope. Obviously me. Have you seen my chauffeur outfit?" He popped his collar playfully.

"Oh yes. Complete with the jacket and the bow tie. It's brilliant Dad."

_

* * *

_

She is so going to stand me up. Obviously. I mean, what kind of girl would like me? I'm temperamental, stupid, and am bad at everything I do. I don't even look good! Stupid gravity defying hair. What is wrong with you?

_George attending for duty. _His conscious muttered.

Tancred's mood dropped. I_'m that freaked out? Really? I'm so worried about this I'm freaking out and you have to come to my aid! Gah. I feel pathetic now._

_You have problems._

_That means you have problems too. You live in my brain. Derrr._

_Tancred really. Cut it out._

_Why? Why should I do that? I don't even have to listen to you!_

If a conscious could roll their eyes, George just did. He sighed. _Look, your being irrational. Do we really have to do this?_

_Do what? _Tancred thought curiously.

_The whole 'Snap out of it Tancred cause Elle obviously likes you and is not attached to that one guy' stuff. It really can be a long conversation._

_Well, you aren't exactly helping! I'm trying to calm my nerves here!_

_NO, you're making your nerves worse by freaking out. Look, Elle likes you, she won't stand you up, your already here…you know. All that jazz. It's a bit…what is the word?…overrated I suppose. You don't need to do that._

_But-_

_No buts. I am your conscious. I have the power to make you slap yourself harder than you ever thought you could slap._

_You can't do that! _Tancred protested, appalled.

_Try me. _George challenged, smug.

_She's not coming._

* * *

"Do what? What can't you do? Who's he talking about anyways?"

Lysander shook his head, still huddled with the other boys. "I honestly cannot answer that one for you. If I can ever give you advice it's that," he hesitated, looking around.

"It's what? Tell me!" Charlie nearly commanded.

After checking that no one was around, he made them lean in closer, then cleared his throat. "Okay," he started. "Now number one. Never, ever, ever, ever try to eat black chili straight. Unless you are some incredibly amazing person that could never ever fail in anything, by this I mean even better than Chuck Norris, then don't even try it."

Billy nodded. "Chuck Norris pwns."

"Yes he does Billy. Yes he does. Next. You will never be able to fully understand the female mind. You can try, but I highly doubt you'd get very far. You can see what they like, what they don't like, what their favorite food is, what food they find revolting. Things like that. But you will never be able to get them. Cause girls are crazy."

"I second that." Charlie muttered.

Lysander grinned a bit. "And last, well, lean in closer."

They all did.

"The last thing is that…Tancred's a force that you shouldn't mess with. Cause he's not the brightest little light bulb if you get what I'm saying. He's a tad bit loony up there."

Gabriel frowned a little. "Well isn't that being a little bit-"

"I'LL NEVER GIVE IN!"

Tancred's scream cut through the sentence, and the boys all turned to stare at him.

"Umm…never mind." Gabriel finished.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, quit it!" Tancred hissed, trying to pull his hand away from his face. "I believe you now okay!…Quit it George!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember, this is the bottom so feel free not to read it.

Okay, first of all, I'd like to apologize for my….what like 3 weeks? Yeah, something like that. That kind of wait is excruciatingly painful, and even though I said I got over that….well I only meant it when the break was short. So I tried to make this one extra long, which it Is you know. 12 pages on Microsoft! I will try to get a couple more up sooner, since I've started on those ones a bit, and I have a good deal of extra time for the next week.

Also, if you'd like to see what they look like, go here:

Ht*tp://s**bucket.c*om/alb*ums/q307*/demonfo*x25/Fanf*iction%20s*tuff/

No stars okay? I'm a very visual person, so I like to picture things as I write. I don't know if you want to see them, but for those of you who like to, go on ahead.

I am currently working on three stories at once right now, not including this one, and I plan to be posting one of them soon after I have their plot actually written down. Unlike this one.

Last, I want to wish all of you a Happy Halloween. I don't know if I can get one up before then, so I'll just say it now. If you celebrate it, go have so fun! If you don't then…never mind.

R&R!

~tubs.

**Oh and p.s: I don't own Charlie Bone or Hansel and Gretel. **

Word Count: 5210


	27. The Ball: Pepperspray & Stars in the Sky

Another long break, but I'm back. Hooray!

Okay, anywho. Back on the subject. I don't really want to keep you waiting long, so I'll leave the announcements until the end (where you can happily skip them except number three) and let you get on with the next installment of The Ball.

_**I don't own anything!**_

_

* * *

_

"You will stay away from things that look, sound, smell, feel-"

"How would I know how something feels if I'm not supposed to go near the thing?"

Mr. Newburt rolled his eyes, giving his daughter a scowl as she attempted to hide her snigger behind her fingers. He looked in the mirror at the other girls, who smiled sympathetically.

It had been a strange event, getting all the girls into the car. Olivia had made certain that no one would get their dress wrinkled or dirty while they got in, making them all slide into their seats so slowly that it was amazing they were actually inside. Then they had forgot their tickets (the Bloors had apparently decided that the dance/ball/thing should at least make them_ some_ money) and had to run back inside, since Elle had said that if they all got their own tickets it would save time. Unfortunately, that meant that they all had to get in the car again, and that horrible process took long enough for even Olivia to admit that they weren't just going to be 'fashionably late.'

Only after they all got in had Mr. Newburt remembered his Mustang was indeed a convertible, and took off the hood. Olivia had given one of her worst death glares for that.

Not only that, but Mr. Newburt had insisted that they stop by the nearest drugstore to buy his daughter some pepper spray so that she wouldn't be "completely defenseless if some guy tried to mug her-as the young people say" and had completely refused to give in to Elle's protests.

Now they were on their way to Bloors, a trip that should have only been 10 minutes quickly reversed to an hour.

Not to mention that daddy was being a tad bit overprotective.

"Don't give me any…cheek! You know what I meant."

Elle blinked, surprised. "Cheek?"

"Attitude! Sass! I don't know." Her father grumbled, making a somewhat too sharp turn. He didn't notice of course.

"Dad." She sighed, stretching it out. "Of course I know what you mean, I was just joking okay? And," She added, looking at him, "I'm fairly certain that my…loveable friends would be there watching over me."

Everyone pretended not to notice her badly disguised "stalkers."

"Yeah, she's right Rich!" Lauren grinned, leaning closer to the front seats. "Elle dear's fine with us, just you see. I'll make sure she has the time of her life. And she doesn't do anything too stupid, 'cause you know," She put her hand next to her mouth, whispering like she was telling an important secret, "your daughter can be quite the loony little thing, if you get my meaning."

Before the said girl could protest, Olivia nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, just as Lauren said. I'll make sure she doesn't go _anywhere_ unprotected!"

"Meaning you'll stalk me the whole time," Elle muttered under her breath.

"And I'll make sure she doesn't do anything to hurt herself. Or anyone else for that matter, Mr. Newburt."

"WHAT?!"

"Thank you girls." Mr. Newburt sniffed affectionately, reaching up to wipe away a tear. "That means a lot to me. And please, call me Richard, Emma. I don't mind." He then turned around and held out his arms.

The three girls in the backseat all reached in for the hug. Elle screamed and grabbed the steering wheel. "DAD!"

* * *

"Hey Sadie, Mathew." Lysander Sage nodded, smiling in a pleasant way. The couple just smiled in return, walking up the marble staircase together. He sighed, and looked back over his shoulder to see the other guys.

Charlie and Gabriel were sitting on the whitish grey wall portion, playing some kind of game with their fingers. Gabriel struck with one hand, 4 fingers raised, making Charlie scowl and tuck away the 2 he had held out on his right hand. Gabriel grinned victoriously and let out a small whoop. What was it called? Chopsticks? Something like that.

They weren't disturbed a bit.

Tancred, of course, was an _entirely_ different matter.

He sat over the wall, his long legs dangling over the edge, back facing the couples that walked to the entrance. His hair, which was left down as it always was when he had to look nice, had started rising a bit as electric currents ran through it, making his forehead exposed to the ground he was facing. It failed to cover the moody glare he aimed at the dirt, nor did it hide the frustrated scowl he wore. He kicked at the ground, his foot not quite touching the floor, but a sudden blast of wind upturning the dirt he aimed at anyways.

Needless to say, people attempted to stray far away from him as possible, trying to avoid getting their skirts blown up from the semi-violent wind tornadoes or their rented tuxedos drenched.

Attempted.

_He_ was perfectly dry of course.

The summoner sighed heavily, heaving himself up and thinking about walking towards his friend. He could, and would get drenched, cold, and get nothing but a moody boy to talk to. But then again, he _did_ have to fill out the roll of "best friend," as he was called.

Dang.

He sighed, deciding what he would do. As he shuffled his feet across the stretch of stairs, he prepared himself to listen to a giant speech of probably nonsense.

_You know, _he thought, _all that's probably going to happen it he's going to complain about everything from dust on his sneakers to how celebrities have way to sparkly teeth, give me a huge story about how Elle ditched him because he's not worthy of her or something, and then Elle's going to magically pop up right in the middle of it. Well, maybe. She might, might not. Oh, yeah. And then Tanc's going to be all sunshine and rainbows and I'm going to end up regretting going to consol him, but not finding it in myself to hate him._

Lysander cringed as a drop of ice cold rain fell on his suit jacket. _Oh yeah. I am so going to regret this. Stupid Torsson._

_

* * *

_

Taaaancred.

_Go away._

_Taaaaaaaaancred._

_Shut up._

_Taaaaaaaaaaaaanc-_

_Oh my god! Will you just shut the hell up and leave me alone? _Tancred thought angrily, feeling bitter emotions running through him. _I'm not up for your stupid mind games right now._

George made that scowl noise. For a second, Tancred's could-be-ADD wondered how he did that, seeing as his conscious didn't exactly have a physical body, but he quickly brushed it off, irritated. _I just can. Snorts, coughs, heck I could sneeze right now if I felt like it. And in case you didn't notice, I kind of share the same body as you. How can I get away from you? _The voice sniffed, making Tancred have to brush off more random thoughts. _You need help too, so I wouldn't go away anyways. _

The storm-bringer rolled his eyes. _Okay, smarty. Since you absolutely refuse to go away, what do you want?_

_Well, first of all, you need some anger management/depression/self-esteem classes. I shouldn't have to get up for you this much. It's not right. _George complained, a whiney note to his voice. _I think I remember some of those psychiatrist numbers you've seen on TV, or in the phonebook, or something. I can give them to you. You want them right? _

…_Really? Seriously? _

_Yes. But then again, I didn't actually expect you to take my offer. Now, you also have to snap out of it. We've gone through this whole thing a million times. Honestly, I really don't think that anyone enjoys this. Not you, not me, and certainly not anyone who can hear your thoughts._

_No one but you and me can hear my thoughts._

George scoffed. _You don't know that. For all you know, some really awesome person could be writing a story about the life of one very self-conscious teen and his girlfriend who probably doesn't give a poop that his hair is so messy or that he thinks he isn't good enough for her. Well, she probably does care that you don't think your worth her, but in a way where she'd slap you and yell until you'd admit that you're perfectly fine the way you are and all that jazz. So yeah, let's just say she doesn't care for the sake of making things easier. Unless you want things to be more complicated. Which you don't. _

Tancred snorted. _I highly doubt that this is worth writing about._

_That's not the topic! _George muttered, frustration laced through his 'voice', then cleared his throat. _Anywho. Before I am forced to give you that big, long, super ultra boring lecture about Elle didn't ditch you and run off with some guy, whose name will probably be made up, and that she's just with Olivia who wants to be fashionably late or something equally as Olivia-like, and so on and so forth, can you just admit it to yourself? I know you have some confidence buried deep down there, so it's better you find it yourself before I get too frustrated and make you believe it._

Tancred mentally sighed. _Fine. I'm good enough. Happy?_ To say that actually felt good, but he would never admit that to George,

_I can feel what your feeling you know._

_Yeah whatever._

_Well, now that you're done with that, I'm just going- Eeeep!_

_Uh, going eep?_

_No, oh my gosh stupid. Look in front of you!_

Tancred glanced up through his eyelashes, seeing Lysander make his way (or more like fight his way) towards him through the rain. He rolled his eyes._ Lysander?_

_Yes! He's my idol!_

…_That's good for you…I guess. _It was still slightly strange that his conscious was completely absorbed into his best friend. A little bit more than 'slightly strange' actually.

_I know. Thank you. Shut up. Now go and talk to him! And send my regards!_

As George's voice faded off into the distance, Tancred stood up to stretch. The weather around him seemed to have calmed down a lot, only giving off a rain so light it shouldn't have even been called a drizzle and a slight breeze, so Lysander was finally able to make his way next to the blonde, dripping wet and grumbling moodily about killing clouds and condensation. When he saw Tancred's amused smile, he scowled. "Can you dry this?"

"I can try. Doesn't mean I will."

"You'd better. I just got attacked by a rainstorm to get over here and make you feel better only to find you smiling at my misery." Lysander grumbled, adding "I knew I would regret this" under his breath.

Tancred smirked after hearing this, but contained a laugh. "Okay, fine." He concentrated for a moment and focused on casting a wind over his friend, grinning when he saw his success. "Good enough?"

"I guess." Lysander huffed, trying to fix his wind-swept hair. "Was it George?"

"He sends his regards, still obsessed over you."

_Not obsessed! Just…slightly…obsessed._

* * *

The black Mustang pulled into a parking space, and Elle was nearly close to shaking in excitement. She held her composure though, and carefully slid out of the car, holding the silver ticket in her hand. She grinned at the school; for once it didn't look so dead. There were streamers and balloons hanging around the lawn, and a train of confetti leading to the 'ballroom'. Bright lights radiated off the walls, indicating that the inside was colored even more. A banner marked the entrance of the school, saying "Welcome students," or something lame like that.

"Okay. Alright. So I suppose I should get going now right?" Mr. Newburt sighed, looking wistfully at the light. "I bet they have some wine in there." He sighed again, a dreamy gaze fixed on the hall.

"Sure dad. I don't think so." Elle laughed.

Lauren frowned. "I thought this was only for the students?"

"Yes, well, there are teachers in there. And wherever there are teachers at a party, there's wine," He argued.

"Dad, that's only you and Uncle Ben." Elle rolled her eyes.

He scoffed. "So? We're both English teachers, and we both party. We have been for 17 years, and we don't plan on stopping. I don't see what's wrong with it."

"Bye dad. I'll see you later alright?"

"Okay, I get the quite subtle hint you're giving off," He winked. "G'bye darling."

"Bye duddy."

"Love you!" He shouted before driving off.

She rolled her eyes before shouting it back. "Ready you guys?"

"Not at all." Olivia grinned linking her arm with Elle's.

They all laughed, and walked to the stairs, connected at the elbows.

* * *

Breath-taking. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Pretty. Radiant. Attractive.

He couldn't think of the right word.

Charlie felt his breathing seem to come to a halt, to catch in his throat. His eyes widened, clearly seeing his girlfriend from his position on the wall. She was simply…stunning. Her hair shined in the light, her curls flawless in everything from color to shape. He could tell that she wore a giant smile, although her head was turned to talk to Emma. And her dress was…

"Hey. Earth to Charlie. Char. Charizard. Sharrr-layyy. Hey!" Gabriel snapped, hands waving in front of his friend's face. He frowned.

"Huh?"

"There you are. Are you…okay?"

"Uh…I guess."

Gabriel's frown deepened. "What? What are you staring at?" He turned his head to look for whatever his friend had been ogling, and suddenly gasped, lightly of course. His eyes widened a fraction, and he gulped. "Uh…wow." He muttered after a moment.

"Yeah. Whoa."

* * *

Lauren frowned, trying to find him. He shouldn't be that hard to find, after all he was a giant kid, by most people's standards. And he was the only person she knew about that had silky black dreadlocks and a bright, if a bit goofy, smile.

Oh that was a pretty smile.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She just had to find him first. It was going to be a bit of a challenge, though, since a crowd of black suited boys were rushing in with girls in puffy skirts, blocking the view of almost everything. Stupid skirts. Who even likes those?

She looked down, noticing the puffiness of her own dress.

Damn.

"You have got to be kidding me." Elle muttered sourly, stopping to glare at something on the floor. She 'tsk'-ed, stepping over it, then unhooked her arms from the other girls, scoffing lightly. "Why that little…when I get my hands on that stupid little prick I'm gonna…_Ugh_." A violent motion was made it the air.

"Sorry? Elle, that's just a bit of sidewalk. You know, cement? It can't walk, let alone make you mad." Olivia pointed out.

"A bit of cement with a trail of water on it leading upwards. On a clear spring day. Coming from only one source." She grumbled, marching up the stairs moodily, a frown marking her face.

"I don't get it. What's she on about? Has she finally gone crazy?" Olivia asked obliviously.

Emma sighed. "You know about Tancred's self-esteem issues."

"Well, duh. Who doesn't?"

"And you know how Elle's bothered to death by it."

"Ch. Of course."

It dawned on Lauren right about then. "Oohhhh. Oh. Uh oh."

"Huh?"

Lauren began climbing up the stairs, hoping she could get there in time. She grimaced as her heels clicked on the granite, slowing her down some, and couples passed in front of her, making her have to stop and go slower. She could hear the other two girls trailing behind her, their own heels mimicking hers. "Okay, Liv. Who or what that we know of makes rain? Or just water I suppose."

"Let's see. The clouds. A hose. Sprinklers. Elle. My bathtub. Richard. My shower. My sink. My refrigerator. The water jug my mum always carries. Tancred. Fish. Rain clouds?"

"Try the third to last one."

"Tancred? He's….oh. Uh oh."

"Yeah. Big uh oh. _Hurry_!"

* * *

"Hey, Sander, you know that kind of looks like Elle. Just mad. And looking at me like she wants to murder me. So that isn't her. Because I haven't said a word to her since this afternoon, and not something she could get angry about. At least, nothing that I know of. Let's keep looking shall we?"

"Tanc, that _is _Elle. And she doesn't look too happy."

"What? No. Nonsense. Why would Elle be angry?"

* * *

"Tancred Timothy Torsson!"

The said boy frowned, his eyes clearly nervous. He put on a quirky little grin though, and tilted his head slightly, leaning against the wall. "Well now, Elle dear, if you keep saying my whole name like that you'll wear it out." His grin faded rapidly as he noticed the glare on her face. A small wind blew by, signaling his apprehension.

"I think I'll just go find Lauren now. I think I saw her over there. You know. That one place really far away from here. So, uh, 'scuse me." Lysander rushed off, leaving a terrified Tancred alone.

He laughed nervously, and it was so completely obvious it was fake he decided to stop. "Why, Elle. What a pleasant surprise to see you here. You look…actually I'm being honest right now. You look absolutely stunning in that dress. Gorgeous really."

Her gaze flickered for a moment, a pink spreading over her cheeks, but she quickly hardened her glare. "Don't bother with compliments. It's not going to work. For right now anyways. You know what you did, so fess up."

Tancred hurriedly racked through his brain, trying to remember what he had done. What could he have possibly done? Was it because he stole her good piece of toast that morning? No, she let him take it. Was in when she nearly got hit in the face when he had swung his arms out while telling her about Lysander's shoe size? Nah, that couldn't be it. That was two days ago. But she did hold grudges. Maybe it was because he didn't take her away from Olivia, as it must have been pure torture having that drama kid work on her. He shuddered at the thought.

"Look, okay. I'm really sorry about not taking you away from Liv. I know you must have had your hair ripped out by her or something while she tried to make you look perfect, which you do," he added quickly, being honest and hopeful it would calm her down a notch, "but I really didn't have a choice in that matter. I didn't think she would be _that_ hard on you, really. I mean, I figured that with Emma and Lauren with you, you would be somewhat safe. You know? So can you find it in you to loosen up with that glare? I'm kind of getting a little frightened over here."_ Frightened? More like I'm about to piss myself!_

She groaned, clearly frustrated. "You dolt! I don't mean that! I mean, sure it was a bit…horrifying having to get knocked out by a lamp so she could do all this-" she made a motion over her face and hair, indicating what she meant, then threw her arms up into the air, "-but that has got nothing to do with what I mean! Why would you even think something as irrational as that! That doesn't even make sense!"

Tancred had a hard time trying to keep his temper down, but it was inevitable that it would flare slightly. He frowned at the attention they were attracting, then looked back at her. "Look, if it isn't that, then I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't talked to you since this morning, and I certainly haven't done anything else today that could have put you in such a foul mood! So could you please get over this, now if you wouldn't mind, so we can go in and party like we should?"

"No," she said, crossing her arms. Elle stomped over to him, until they were only about a foot or so apart, then stopped, scowling lightly. Her eyes softened as she took in the obvious amount of effort he had put into looking nice. With a sigh, she muttered, "Look Tanc. I…"

"You?"

"I…you…rain…ugh, this is a lot harder to say. Look. You, m'dear, have serious problems."

He blinked. "You came here to tell me _that_? I've been told that pretty much everyday of my life. Sorry if that puts a dent in your plans."

She stifled a laugh, then became sober once again. "No, not like that. I mean, yeah you do have problems, you crazy loon, but I mean that you've go to stop thinking that you're…less than you really are." She looked away shyly, no longer holding his gaze. "I mean, you aren't bad, no matter what you might think. You're fine, trust me."

He blushed suddenly. "How did you know?"

"Water. A ball. Going with me." Elle rolled her eyes. "You can't _not_ put those two, or well, three I guess, together. Or else you have to be a little dim up in the attic, if you got my meaning." After a moment, she looked up again, a cocky grin on her face. "You're still not worthy of me, you know, 'cause I am way to cool. No one is worthy of me."

"I thought you were making me feel _better_."

She shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, you come really close. Your only about 15 steps away."

He laughed lightly, stepping closer before noticing he was right next to her. He could see the individual strands of her dark hair, each one curling delicately before landing near her chest. The slight chocolate lotion she always wore slowly wafted up to his nose, and he inhaled in deeply, savoring the smell before he knew what he did. Her skin was soft, and her hands pressed against him were warm, yet they sent tingles running down his spine. Tancred flushed, suddenly realizing that he had her in a loose hug. She looked up, and he noticed the way her eyes got just a little bit bigger when she was nervous, like now.

He _couldn't_ stop it.

They were just inched away now, his mouth twitching in anticipation. Almost-

"There you two are!"

It was faster than lightning. They jumped apart, literally, both blushing red, breathing a little deeper. Elle busied herself with staring at the floor like it was the most interesting this ever, and fixing her hair, which she thought would make her look completely innocent and like she had been doing absolutely nothing (like not just about to kiss her boyfriend), even though it was a completely un-Elle thing to do. Tancred just swung himself back onto the edge of the wall, staring up at the night sky, blushing like a cherry.

"Did I interrupt something?" Lysander teased, knowing he'd have to pay later but enjoying it anyways. He snickered at the sight of the both of them becoming even more flushed, but didn't continue.

"Why, Gabriel, did you see what I think I just saw?"

"Why yes, Charlie, I do think I did. Are you talking about what I think your talking about?"

Charlie grinned devilishly, shrugging. "That depends. Are you thinking about that thing that that I was thinkin' about that involves two things of which the two things may find incredibly embarrassing, then ya, I am thinkin' about that thing."

"Oh, yeah, you're totally thinking about what I'm thinking about. You mean the thing tha's yellow and the dark blue right?"

Tancred automatically reached for his hair, and Elle tried to cover her dress.

"Oh ya. It's those things."

Gabriel cracked a smile on his long face, "You mean…"

"Oh ya, I mean." Charlie laughed.

"The stars in the sky!"

* * *

Hah! I can write a romance! For all of you who doubted me (which…there wasn't anyone) I just proved you wrong! …Alright, so I admit I couldn't stand just having romance-y fluff, so I added a tad bit of humor, but I wrote a romance. :P

Anywho, if anyone doesn't get the last pat, Charlie and Gabriel are just messing around with Elle and Tancred (cause Elle's wearing a midnight blue dress and Tanc has yellow hair) but they just suddenly said the stars (which are yellow) and the sky (which is blue) cause…It's funny in my mind okay?

Did anyone notice the Pokemon reference? Haha…I love pokemon.

I wonder who that "_awesome person _(who) _could be writing a story about the life of one very self-conscious teen and his girlfriend " _is. Hmmm? ;D

Just so you know, you can skip the rest of this part, save number 3 please. It's basically going to all be announcements of some kind, and you don't really need to know them unless you are actually interested in this kind of stuff. READ NUMBER THREE!

1. I will be working furiously to get the rest of the ball, at least, done, and I am fairly certain that there is no more that 2 parts left to it. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but my chapters are split because they feel right that way so don't yell at me.

2. My other computer (the one I usually do this story on) broke down, quite literally. Geek Squad at Best Buy said it's not even worth fixing. (Well, actually, they said they could fix it but it would cost a lot- as much as buying a new laptop.) So the chapters will be harder to write (I'm not used to this version of Word) until I get a new laptop, therefore making the chapters churn out even slower. I'm going to work double time though, so it might make up for it.

3. I'm having a writer's block right now. If you go on my page, you'll see a poll. Please vote there if you want me to keep going. I can't decide what to do. T-T

4. I'm not sure why I put four, cause I only need three…

Well, if you read the announcements, thanks. If you didn't then I don't think you'd be reading this part. Thanks for reading, and I'm going to try to spit out some more chapters soon!

I love you all my faithful readers!

R&R!

~tubs.

P.S. Don't forget to vote!

word count: 4438


	28. The Ball: She's Crazy!

There's still time to vote! Please go check out my poll! It's on my profile.

**Disclaimer: I no ownz.**

* * *

"Are you guys going to come or not?"

Before Emma got a chance to speak again, Olivia thrust a hand over her mouth, a clear gesture for the other girl to shut up, ignoring the disapproving looks she got. She then smiled sweetly at Elle and Tancred, blinking in a mock-sweet manner that made Elle want to gag, it was so fake. "Yes, yes, we'll be coming in a little bit. I'm just admiring…admiring…Charlie's tie!"

"What?" Charlie asked, obviously confused.

"Yeah! It's such a marvelous shade of brown don't you think? It's deep and shines and almost chocolately looking. And it's highlighted with a tinge of blue at certain places, isn't that just amazing? It's just like my dress." She managed to spit out, looking a bit too observant to be serious.

Tancred rolled his eyes, sighing in disappointment. "It is supposed to. You literally made us all spend a whole half an hour to find the 'perfect shade to match our dates' dress' or whatever. This tie here," he held up his, ",yeah, it wasn't cheap. And I found it under a pile of red ones. What sense does that make? It's blue!"

"Liv, don't lie. You may be an actress, but you suck at it right now. You weren't even looking at Charlie right now. You were staring at how Gabriel was attempting to stare at Emma without it being too obvious, and saying random nonsense about how adorable they look." Elle pointed out. "You've got something up your sleeve don't you?"

"I resent that." Gabe scoffed. "And I was most certainly not doing that!" He added hurriedly, blushing as Emma just gave him an amused smile.

"I'm not wearing sleeves, silly. Are you sure you can see right, right now? Maybe Tancred and you should gallop off to some place like the nurses where you two will be alone and-"

"No, we have nothing planned, or at least, no plans involving you two. So you should just go into the dance now, before you miss anything too interesting. We'll be in soon, after we straighten out a few mishaps, don't worry." Lysander interrupted smoothly, giving Olivia a clear look that said 'shut up before you give it away.'

"But Sander, what about that thing we're gonna do, you know that-"

"Shut up Charlie." The said boy hissed, trying to be secretive.

Tancred and Elle glanced at each other, sharing a look before nodding and turning around to face a different direction. He gestured for her to some closer, and pulled her so that they huddled together and no one could see what they were saying. "That was a horrible act. If I were them I wouldn't have told Charlie," Tancred muttered in a hushed voice, in case one of their friends thought of eavesdropping.

Elle laughed, a twinkle toughing her eyes. "I know, that was a stupid play on their part. So what do you think we should do?"

He considered this for a moment, taking a breath to calm his nerves, and shrugged. "I don't really know. What do you think so far?"

"Well," Elle started, "it's obvious that they're up to something, though as for what I only have the idea that those two are trying to get us alone."

"That sounds rather reasonable."

"How so?"

"Because."

Elle rolled her eyes. "Would you care to explain?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed yet, which would be rather odd cause you'd have to be stupid not to, Lysander loves to butt into my 'nonexistent love life,' or so he phrases it. Well, now that I do have a 'semi-existent love life,' and I'm not joking he actually called it that, he'll try and get you and me even closer so that I would actually have a 'love life' , mind the air quotes, and I'd act like Emma and Gabriel over there, who can't seem to take their eyes off each other and they hold hands and all that lovey-dovey stuff or whatever. I don't know. That guy's rather loony if you ask me. Just touched a tad bit up there."

Elle smiled. "Aww, that's kind of sweet. I mean, it's probably annoying, and I know that firsthand with Olivia, but if you phrase it like that it sounds like he cares and stuff. That's pretty cool." After a moment, she grinned mischievously, and said, "Do you think you have a nonexistent love life?"

Tancred flushed. "Uh…yes. Wait, what?"

She smothered a smirk, then brushed her lips softly across his cheek, making him go even redder. "How about now?"

"Er…" He coughed. "What are talking about again?" He asked dumbly.

Elle couldn't help it after that, and clutched her sides as she began laughing. She knew full well that people were probably looking at her confused, but she couldn't care less right then. It was too funny!

He grumbled, trying to make himself look a normal skin color, and frowned. "Elle, quit it! We still have to figure out what we're going to do! All we know is that they're trying to get us away from them. Whoop-di-doo, big help there. I'm still lost."

After calming own a bit, she wiped a tear from her eye. "Alright…alright. So what do we do?"

"Well, since we know that they're trying to get us together, that means none of them will go in. I'm not entirely sure if Gabe's in on the plan, but if Emma is, which it seems like it, and she's not going in, then he'll stay out here with her. Since that's the case, then we have two options. We can either a, turn around and ask them what's going on right now, but I doubt that we could manage a straight answer unless we ask Charlie and they probably won't let him answer anyways, or b, we can just humor them and follow through with their plan and waltz into the dance/ball thing without them. That doesn't sound like a half bad idea, and we'd probably end up doing it anyways, so we might as well go with b, but I'm not a big fan of it."

"Well storm boy, that actually sounded like some pretty good logic. I'm surprised it came from you."

"Shut up," He growled mockingly, before letting her go and turning around.

Lysander grinned at them before raising an eyebrow. "So you've come up with a plan then, have you? I wouldn't put it past Elle to make one."

"What about me?!" Tancred asked.

"Yes, in fact, we have." Elle announced, ignoring him. "We have decided to go with plan b, or basically we'll just go with the flow or whatever ad get into the ball before we put a damper in your plans."

"I decided that you know. Made the plans and came up with a logical answer and everything!" Tancred huffed indignantly.

"Good choice." Olivia chimed, smiling brightly. "I guess that means we'll be seeing you later then."

"Indeed it does."

"Is anyone listening to me?" Tancred muttered, sniffing at his lack of attention.

"Yes, I'm just choosing to ignore you." Elle said, grabbing his hand. "Anywho let's go."

Tancred sighed, but complied to her, or actually his, brilliant plan. After getting past the entrance, where they were greeted by a rather…interesting…Mr. Weedon in autumn orange, puke green, and shockingly bright red, and entering the hall, he noticed Elle had taken to frowning. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Didn't you notice that someone rather important was missing?"

"Like?"

"Lauren?"

Tancred thought about that for a moment, but as he racked through his brain, that did pop up. He shrugged it off. "Maybe she was just in the restroom fixing her hair or something of the like. It might seem out of character, but it is the big ball."

"No, I don't think so. You think she's part of the plan too?"

"Maybe." Tancred smiled, breaking through the gloom. "But let's get your mind off this, shall we? Care for a dance, Madam Newburt?"

"Of course, Mister Torsson."

* * *

"Is everything set?"

Lysander gave a curt nod, staring longingly at a door to their left. "Yes, I think so. Is it about time we call Lauren out yet?"

Olivia chewed her lower lip in thought, then nodded. "I think the coast is clear. She should have been able to slip him the cd, and she should be able to come back now. And if you want, we can just head in now, since nothing's going to happen out here anymore."

"Good. I'll go get her and see the rest of you guys later," Lysander volunteered, swiftly leaving before anyone could object.

Olivia turned to look at Charlie, who wasn't actually a big part of the plan, so he stood there looking bored. Even today, his notoriously messy hair refused to stay low, sticking up at edges she couldn't dare to fathom, and she gazed at it, wondering how he had even gotten it. Even his father didn't have that much of a hassle on his head! When he noticed she was staring at him, he perked up though, and smiled lazily. "We're all set and ready to go right?"

"Yeah." She whispered, moving closer to him. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Emma roll her eyes, but didn't say anything. _Oh, shut up Emma. You and Gabe are worse. _"Now we just wait until it plays."

"You know," Charlie said casually, holding out a hand. Olivia looked at it questioningly, her eyebrows elegantly rose into her hair, before taking it. "That's a brilliant plan you cooked up. Great job." He smiled brightly, making a shiver run through her.

"You know Gabe, I think we should follow Sander and Lauren. The nights still on full swing, and we've got plenty of time to waste." Emma suggested quietly, though with an amused smile could be heard laced through her voice. "I think these two are the ones who want to be alone."

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Gabriel agreed, taking her hand. Before he walked away though, he offered his friend a quick wink and a sly smirk.

Charlie rolled his eyes, but mouthed a 'thanks' when he was sure Olivia wasn't looking. Afterwards, he looked back to his girlfriend, stopping himself from gasping again. She was…striking…

"So," Olivia droned, not really knowing what to say. _Well, that's a first. I guess I'm still a bit out of it around him. Thank god he's not a mind reader. I would've died if he'd have heard that._

"So." He stated nervously. "Would you, uh, like to get inside yet?"

"No, unless you'd like to. Just staying out here's rather relaxing."

"Alright." He shrugged, then thought again, his eyes flicking back to Olivia for a second.

The hall leading into the ballroom was pretty much empty, save the few stragglers that were slipping into the bathrooms or the chaperone (a very funnily dressed, and probably grumpy Mr. Weedon), since it was well over an hour into the ball, and not many people would arrive this late. The red roses that were strewn around still had a vibrant tone, especially since lights from the slightly opened ball doors bounced off the walls everywhere. Music was being played, not the regular pop/hip/rock stuff that they, kids, normally listened to, but the softer classical stuff. People could be seen dancing, smiling, and just waltzing around the floor even from where he was.

He should be doing that.

But…would he?

He glanced back at Olivia, who fidgeted a little, before settling comfortably against the wall, staring out a window. He felt a sudden lurch in his chest and grimaced, though not from pain. It was just odd.

_C'mon Charlie. _A little voice said in the back of his mind. _It can't be that hard. Just do it, dammit, before you get scared out witless and back out, stuttering like a blubbering mess. It's not like you haven't done anything worse. I mean, even Skarpo was scarier than this, right?_

_No, _he retaliated,_ he was a helluva lot easier._

But he swallowed anyways, and released a breath, trying to gather enough courage for what he was about to do.

* * *

"I thought you said you could dance," Elle laughed, then winced as a quick stab of pain jolted through her toes, biting back a hiss.

Tancred had the decency to blush. "I'm really sorry. But I don't know who told you that, and whoever did you should sue or something, since they're not a very reliable source of information if you ask me."

"You really think so? Alright then. Tancred Timothy Torsson, I am hereby filing a lawsuit against you for brutally murdering my feet and lying to get me to dance with yo- OW!" Elle swore. "Okay, this is too hard. Tanc, we should really just go sit down or something. If we keep this up, you'll smash my toes into oblivion! And it doesn't help with our stupidly fancy and rather pointy shoes."

Tancred grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "NO! Wait. Okay, lemme try this again okay. If I er….step on your toes again we'll go sit down alright?" He pleaded, giving her such a pathetic look that she couldn't resist.

"Fine." Elle sighed, consenting.

"…Okay, you know we should go sit now." Tancred said awkwardly.

Elle winced. "Yeah, you think?"

* * *

"Is everything set?"

"Uh h-huh. We just ha-ave to get the girl." Dagbert responded.

_That's strange. _Manfred thought, looking at his fellow comrade curiously. He was standing stiffly, no longer slouching, and looking about wildly, making his greenish hair whip around him. "Are you…alright?" He questioned carefully, not exactly sure of what to make of this. The boy was normally relaxed, almost lazy looking, so his behavior was oddly…disturbing.

Dagbert, looked at him for a second, before nodding curtly. "Yes."

He knew he was treading on deadly waters, but he couldn't resist. "Are you sure? Because you look a little…shaken up. Are you looking for someone, perhaps?"

"No! Now butt out!" Dagbert replied, a little too quickly.

That was it! Here he was, Manfred Bloor, trying to be nice to the little cretin, and he just blew him off! What happened to respect and all those morals? Not that most of them actually mattered, but respect was important! "Okay brat," He snarled, reverting back to his old ways. "What's going on? And don't you dare lie to me, Endless, or you will regret it."

Dagbert stiffened further, thinking about arguing, but bit his tongue, slumping back into his chair. "Where's your date?"

"What?" The Bloor blinked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you were the-" _crazy idiotic stupid brute_, Dagbert thought to himself bitterly,"-one who said we're required to bring a date! Who's yours?"

"I am a teacher's assistant. I do not have to abide by such rules. But how is this relevant to anything?"

"Ariel Simmons."

Manfred had to keep himself from retching. "Ugh, what about that girl? Isn't she the one who always smells like old people perfume and smiles way too much? Drama department, if I remember correctly."

"Actually, she's in music, but she sucks at the violin. I don't see how she ever got in."

"What does she matter?"

"She's my…date."

Manfred didn't show much emotion, except when he was angered, but he couldn't help but grin evilly for a second. "You went with her? Why?"

"She was the only one who I figured would leave me alone if I asked her. I was sure she would just ditch me after and go chat with her friends. That didn't work out too well though. She's- oh crap."

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Manfred hissed as the other boy dived, literally, under the table. "These tables are not cheap! What if you had broken them? Do-"

"Sir, do you know where Dagbert is?" Ariel asked sweetly, though as Manfred turned to look at her, a scary glint in her eyes made him feel like crawling in a hole. A deep one where mankind would be shielded for ages, or at least until that glint was gone. "I heard you two are friends and I figured you might know where my darling was. I'd like to dance with him. Now. And Show him a lovely time at the ball."

_Crap, this girl's crazy! _Manfred opened his mouth to answer, but a sharp tug on his trousers stopped him. "Wait." He dropped his head down under the tablecloth. "What do you want?" He hissed.

"Don't tell her!" Dagbert pleaded, which Manfred would have taken as pathetically hilarious if the situation wasn't so scary. "Please, Bloor, don't tell her!"

"Why not? She's your date. Go face the music!"

"NO! That….she's scary. Just don't."

For once, Manfred decided to listen. He reluctantly pulled his head out, and took a deep breath before turning back to her. "Shoelace, sorry. No. I haven't the slightest clue where Endless could be. Now scram."

Ariel frowned. "Shucks. Thanks sir." She turned to walk away, muttering under her breath. "I don't know what's wrong with him! He just ran away as soon as we got to the door. Why when I get my hands on that boy..."

As Dagbert chanced crawling out from below the table, Manfred asked, stunned, "Did you really? That's rude. And _I'm _telling you that."

"She was hanging off my arm like an extra shirt and I'm sure she would've jumped me if she got me in a corner with her alone. I don't want to be attacked by her. I think she's a tad…uh…touched in the attic. Whatever. You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do."

"Hey, look, they're leaving the dance floor!"

"What!?" Manfred scrambled in his chair, looking for them. Dagbert didn't lie, the two were moving off towards the tables, the girl wincing in pain. "Brilliant." He sighed contently, letting a forbidden smile to graze his features before he hardened them, an evil flicker in his eyes. One that didn't scare Dagbert out of his senses.

"Should I get the others sir?"

"What are you waiting for?"

* * *

Okay, so after this should be the last installment of the ball. I'm like, 99.12345% positive of that. Though, remember, there's still that 0.87654% chance that it's not!

I don't have much to say here, just to please (pleasepleasepleaseplease!) go vote on my profile! It's crucial!

Also, happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans, and for my non-American readers, um…I don't know. But happy something!

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count:3108


	29. The Ball: So, Um, Yeah

APOLOGY NOTE AT THE BOTTOM! Dx

**I don't own any of the CotRK series, that's Nimmo's gig. Only Elle, possibly George, and this plot, as well as some minor characters that probably don't matter much at all are mine.**

* * *

"So tell me, what exactly do people at a dance do when they aren't dancing?" Tancred questioned, genuinely curious about it. He cocked his head to one side absently. "I mean, it is called a dance, but people don't just dance the whole time, do they? 'Cause that's be really weird. They'd get tired sooner or later, or they can't dance but still want to go to the thing or something right?"

Elle shrugged as she played with the edge of the tablecloth. "I wouldn't know. Why should I? I know as much about these things as you do, and I wouldn't be lying if I said that that's not very much."

Silence.

And more silence.

Tancred sighed heavily, dropping his head forward until it gently collapsed upon the table. A small gust of wind followed it, accompanied by some feminine (or sometimes masculine) shrieks from the people that it hit. He huffed, pouting slightly. "Man, this is boring. It's like, the boringest thing ever invented since…um…"

"Badminton?"

"Nah, that's actually king of fun if you know how to play. Something else…"

"Watching ice melt?"

"…How did that…Why…Never mind. Sure. Boring enough." He leaned back dramatically, throwing a floppy arm over his eyes. "Ugh. Why didn't someone _tell_ us the only thing you do here is sit around watching other people do stuff that you're absolutely horrible at?"

"Because many people don't know that the all-mighty, ultimate icon of supreme greatness names Tancred Torsson is an absolutely _wretched _dancer, that's why." Elle teased, and then paused, sighing. "You are right though. I'd rather be doing something way more fun right now. Jeez, even feeding those crazy squirrels was better than this."

"No kidding." Tancred snorted, before a maniacal grin slowly spread over his face. "You know, that was actually pretty fun."

"I know, right? Who would've guessed that squirrels even _liked_ pie?"

"Exactly!" He nodded enthusiastically, waving his hands around in excited motions. "I always thought that if they tried to eat anything other than acorns or bugs, their stomachs wouldn't be able to take it so then they would fall off their tree branches or whatever area they were inhabiting and have a seizure where foam starts dribbling out of their mouth and their eyes bug out and they make these creepy 'crrraaaaaarrrrggggg' noises. And then, the squirrel would be all gross looking and then it would blow up or spontaneously combust or something incredibly awesome like that."

Elle burst out laughing, wiping at her eyes for the dramatic touch. Then, she sobered, looking slightly serious. "You know, sometimes I worry about you, Tancie." She sighed, grinning. "Buuut then I realize you're just too lazy to use your brains for anything other that things like this, and I feel better."

The said boy just smiled proudly, nodding. "I know. My mum tells me that all the time."

There was, yet again, another silence.

"Hey, you want some punch? I'll get it."

Elle shrugged. "Sure."

* * *

_Charlie, don't worry.. Quit acting like a baby and just get this over with._

_**But I can't! It's too hard and too embarrassing.**_

_It's not that bad! Just-_

_**Wait, I'm having mental arguments with my inner Charlie. That's bad. I'm going psycho like Tancred! That's just great! Well, he started going mental after he met Elle, so that must be it! Maybe Elle is infecting us all with her insanity, like a…disease or something! Yes, that's got to be it! Ugh. I am going insane. How horrible.**_

_Yes, it is bad. But things like this require going a bit crazy don't they?_

Charlie scowled, still looking at his black, a bit scuffed up, dress shoes. They were awfully uncomfortable actually. His toes were wiggling inside them, threatening to stretch them out, and he stuffed his hands in his pockets to try and stop them from twitching. Stupid fingers. Why couldn't they just stay still? Why did he have to be cursed with such odd habits that just wouldn't go away?

He was still outside the main hall with Olivia, an awkward silence stretched out between them, or so he though. She was leaning on the window, challenging herself b attempting to pry it open with a couple pins even though it refused to budge. She didn't seem to notice anything else around her, especially Charlie, since the task had painted her face into one of utter focus and determination. Charlie found himself thankful for her short attention span. It was one less person to see his troubled face.

_Okay, this is just stupid. _He scoffed to himself._ We're supposed to be havin' a great time partying and here I am ruing the whole thing by doing what…Oh, that's right. Nothing! That shouldn't even make sense, but it does. Ughhhh. Maybe I should just ask her to dance. I mean, I didn't ask Uncle P for those dance lessons just so I wouldn't get to show them off for Liv. If I did then I'm…I don't even know the right word, but it probably isn't something that nice people can call each other. I'm pretty sure I'm a nice person, 'cause Liv would never date someone mean like…like Manfred! Ew. Gross. _"Ugh. Liv and Manfred?" He muttered, not even noticing it had slipped out.

"Hmm?" She responded, looking away from the window. "Did you say something?"

Crap.

"Uh, umm…" he turned beet red then, flushing to the tip tops of his ears. "Ummm…"

"Um?" Olivia's eyes glittered with silent amusement, and she raised an eyebrow at him expectedly, something of which Charlie found himself half-heartedly hating her for.

"Umm…"

"Would you like to dance Charlie? It's getting a bit stuffy out here."

_I gave myself that bug huge pep talk and then she goes and asks me? I don't think….ah screw it. _"Sure."

* * *

"You know, you aren't a bad dancer. I'm rather surprised at that actually." Emma smiled as he blushed a faint shade of pink. "But I suppose you learned from Charlie's uncle too, didn't you?"

He blinked. "Um, yes actually. But how did you know that?"

"Oh, a little birdie told me ." She grinned mischievously, but laughed a bit. He joined her, his heart fluttering .

He'd never really though about those little phrases. To Gabriel, they just seemed like a bunch of silly words and phrases that love-sick authors used to make the setting all dramatic and whatnot. Because, really, your heart _can't_ flutter, it's a solid organ made of tissue and cells and all that. All it does is pump blood, and possibly some other equally important functions that people care not as much about to teach to middle school children. It your heart really did flutter, that might be a health hazard. And why would "a shiver run down his [her?] back as she [he] touched him, sending light tingles shooting through his body?" That doesn't even make sense. She or he just held his or her hand for goodness sake, not punched them in the gut. Now that would send tingles all over. Ouch.

Then she became…_perfect._

How?? It hadn't even occurred to him how fast she went from Emilia Moon, to Emma Tolly, to Emma-that-girl-he-liked, to suddenly Emma-his-girlfriend-that-made-him-feel-surpisingly-good-about-himself. Those tingles, the fluttery hearts, the blush, the everything that was completely cheesy and utterly stupid sounding was real to him. It wasn't just some phrase that the love sick author stuck in to make a scene seem romantic or whatever, it was _actually _true. (Plus, romance wasn't exactly his field anyways.) Now he felt first-handedly the aches when she was gone, the strange giddy shocks he got just by seeing her again, the stuff that they say only happens in the movies. He ever got the urge to pummel guys to death if they looked at her strangely (although, if he thought about that too much, he knew he'd most likely lose if he tried to pummel anyone to anything, seeing as masculine manly muscles weren't really his think either), something hard to avoid if you were known as bird-girl. He couldn't stand when people, namely other guys, lingered on her for too long. And according to _Teen Thrive _magazine, jealousy and protectiveness came in a nicely wrapped package with…

Well, you know. Not that he read that silly stuff anyways.

_Teen Thrive_. Psh.

A sharp prop in his ribs brought him back to reality. He hissed, rubbing at the the spot that was now sore quite a bit. "What?" He whined, not really wanting to come out of his thoughts.

"Are you okay there?" Emma asked shyly. "Because you've been standing there staring at me for a while now. You hardly even seemed to notice my poking,"

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I'm perfect," he grinned.

* * *

"Hello."

"Well, that was…" Elle trailed off, her smile dimming slowly. It faded away to a grimace. "Oh, it's you. _You're_ not Tancred." She muttered under her breath.

"No, I'm not, and I don't exactly hope to be any time soon."

"That's nice. Can I help you?" She scowled darkly, hopping she wouldn't blow up anything. After all, this guy had pretty much kidnapped her before.

"Actually, yes. You can." Dagbert replied smoothly, looking the least bit disturbed by her unfriendly nature. "Drink? I didn't add some deadly poison or anything to it, promise. Not that you'd believe me if I really did promise or anything, but it doesn't hurt to say it." He added quickly to her suspicious look.

Cautiously, Elle took it, giving it a sip. After a small, satisfied smile, she cleared her throat. "How so?"

"Good question. You see, we have this little…alliance here at Bloor's, and there's still a bit of time for you to make up your mind and join it."

"I am not going to join the dark side you-"

"Is _that _really what you guys call it?" He replied, amused. "Well, what a dramatic name, a bit like Star Wars or something isn't it, but I suppose it fits, seeing as the lot of you on the…would it be light side?…Are all pretty much like that, aren't you?"

"If this is our way of trying to get me to join, you really have to take some persuasion classes. I mean, who tries to convince someone to leave somewhere that they are plenty happy being at, but goes and insults her friends at the same time? Really? That is quite pathetic." Dagbert scoffed, though she could tell he was silently berating himself for the slip up. "But don't worry. You are only twelve right?"

"I don't think my age-"

Elle shook a finger at him. "Uh-uh. You know, you really should consider your age. It _does _matter. What if you look back on this eighty years from now, granted you live that long, and say "dang, what did I waste my childhood on? I was helping destroy a little league of kids to do…" Well, what exactly are you doing? Rule the continent with an iron fist? Kill all cute a fuzzy little adorable animals in this world? Oh, how terrifying! "

"Actually, we're not doing any of that, we're just going to- oh. Oh, no. You're good, and you almost got me there, but you aren't good enough."

Elle smirked crookedly but her eyes glowered at him coldly. "Aw damn. I was sure I had you there."

"Well, you didn't."

"Okay then. Speaking of being young, where's that girlfriend of your's? I wouldn't like to be taking you away from her."

Dagbert almost visibly cringed. "Uh, she's somewhere."

"Right." Elle replied disbelieving.

"Well," Dagbert said, looking away. "We shouldn't stray of topic. Are you in?"

"Sorry, I don't think you heard anything I've said in the past, oh, I don't know, 2 minutes?" She scowled lightly, trying to keep a yawn out of her voice. Strangely, this conversation was making her tired. Then again, she was talking to Dagbert here. "Should I repeat it all to you?"

Dagbert snorted. "Well, you're…for lack of better terms, you've got your panties in a bunch."

"No shi-" She paused, turning around to yawn. Shaking her head to clear away the drowsiness, she turned back. "Of course I do! Here I am, poor little innocent me, trying to have the time of her adolescent life at this grand ball of which the Bloor's graciously threw, for reasons of which I am still a bit concerned that no one knows, and you come and ruin it with your face. Oh, and trying to convert me to whatever you call your "alliance," but believe me the former is much more disturbing. I think I'll have nightmare's forever!" Elle threw a hand over her eyes in mock distress, but groaned, moving it over her mouth to stifle a new growing yawn. "Oh all times, I feel like falling asleep now?" She muttered, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"I didn't put anything in your drink, but I know I didn't say any one else didn't. I believe that Joshua Tilpin had the honors of doing it. You see," Dagbert smirked, his green lanky hair making it all the more intimidating, "Manfred had a feeling that you'd be slightly uncooperative, so we didn't want to take our chances. We did arrange this whole dance-thing especially so we could win you over, you, so feel special. We couldn't lose an opportunity like this one.

Elle had to keep her head from hitting the table from her seat, and her voice slurred. "I knew it!"

"Yes, well, you ought to make sure you're leaning against something," the drowner recommended, seeing her head droop. "You wouldn't want to land on the floor with a crash, because everyone knows that's no good."

The last thing she could remember before her eyes finally closed were two small shadows stepping closer and a whisper.

"Sorry."

* * *

"Yeah. I'll catch you around," Tancred muttered, his plastic smile threatening to crack. _**Oh my god, just go away already!**_

_That's not nice. _George chimed._ I mean, sure he's got more pimples than the average acne-ridden teen, and maybe he does snort a bit too much, and it is a little strange how he pulls his shorts up too high, and his glasses do frighten me a bit, and his voice makes me want to shut off your eardrums, and he does have a strange stalkerish obsession with people sometimes, and…Well, maybe he is an annoying guy, but he's still not that bad!_

_**George, just admit it. He is.**_

"Yeah, snort, alright!"

"Ohkaythen. Well, I'll be going now," Tancred said with his plastic smile still glued to his face. "You know, so I'll catch you late Mike."

"Are you, snort, sure? You could, snort, hang around me and Ellie, snort, a bit more , snort, if you want."

His girlfriend, Eleanor, smiled, and Tancred fought the urge to scream. She was just as bad as Mike, but instead of having major nerdy, stalker-like behavior, she had an annoying obsession with questioning just about everything that just about anyone did, although that still might qualify as stalkerish. She also has a tendency to talk about politics, and how fun of a topic is that? "Yeah, Tancred Torsson." Oh, and saying everyone's full name tended to put everyone but Mike on edge. "You don't _happen _to have anything to do, do you? Maybe go plot something with your little friends or something? Hmm?"

"Um, no actually. Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh," She sighed, looking put out. She instantly perked up again. "Well, what _are _you going to do?"

"…Go hang out with my girlfriend…?" Tancred answered, feeling small. The lady was practically interrogating him!

"Can't you hang out with Michael Ross and me?"

"No, it's okay, I've got to go to a different Elle now, so, um-"

"Ooh, I gotcha." Mike interrupted, winking. He wiggled his giant unibrow suggestively. It was one of those sights that leaves you scarred for life and just thinking about it brings the feeling of being dosed with a tub of ice cold water. Tancred forced down an upcoming shudder, and struggled to stay where he was. Eleanor giggle, which in itself was just as scary. "Well, run along then."

"Uh, sure." The blond muttered, saying goodbye again and walking away as calmly from the couple as he could.

"Sad encounter with the Mad Mike, eh?"

Tancred's eyes widened at the familiar voice, and then narrowed. He huffed, spinning on his heals to turn in a dramatic rush. "And where have you been mister?"

"You sound like my mom."

"I…didn't mean to and now realize that, but I couldn't care less. Actually, I could, but that's not what we're talking about.."

Lysander shrugged, making the beads in his dark hair jingle, but he smiled all the while. Lauren laughed, comfortably standing by his side. "We were having some time away from you and your psychotic girlfriend."

"Elle is not…well…okay, maybe just a little bit." Tancred admitted sheepishly. "But that's hardly the point. Did you guys have fun snogging in a closet or whatever you two do in your _alone _time?"

Lysander looked affronted. "Tanc, seriously! I don't do that! I have _much _more class."

Lauren snorted. "Yeah, because migrating over to the janitor's office is so much more classy than a broom closet."

"Well, obviously. It's _bigger _isn't it? And that wasn't what we were doing anyways." The African boy sniffed, obviously not happy about being corrected. "That incident was 2 weeks ago, in the mall might I add, not in a school. We were actually looking around for you and Elle and Charlie and Gabe and…Well, basically everyone. But you're actually the first one we've ran into . Congrats. You're special now. I hope you're happy."

"I am actually, thanks."

"Oh, well, that's nice I guess."

"Yeah." Tancred grinned. "It is, isn't it?"

"…I suppose?" Lysander just looked confused.

"Yeah."

"Wait, what?"

Lauren rolled her eyes, but cut in. "If you're here then where's Elle?"

"Right. Um, she's over at the table."

"There are a _lot _of table Tanc and even more people to go through to find the right one." Lysander pointed out.

"Yeah, I know."

Lauren and Lysander looked at each other, both with blank looks. With a simultaneous nod of some sort of silent agreement, they stared back at him, unblinking.

"Can I…help you?"

They still stared, but the corner of Sander's lip twitched.

"Okay you guys. This is not cool. What are you doing?"

Their eyebrows both twitched.

"Tancred looked ready to pull his hair out any second. "You two are kind of creeping me out, I mean, you keep doing things at _the exact same time. _it's a little unnerving. And you're twitching a lot. Are you sure you're okay? You might be suffering from something, like a heart attack or a mini-seizure or something. Do you want me to take you to th hospital or something? I know we're not _supposed _to have them, but I think I know a guy who might know someone with a phone I can call an ambulance with, or I could just use mine, in case-"

Lauren broke first. "Look, Tancred, how many people do you suppose are in this room?"

"I don't know, a hundred? This doesn't really have anything to do with seizures though."

She ignored the last part. "Probably too small a guess, but sure. Let's go with that. And if there were a hundred, there's got to be enough tables for at least half of them to sit down, right?

"Um. I guess so." Tancred muttered, still confused and sending looks of 'where-is-this-going' to the couple.

"So, suppose that each table has about 5 seats available. You know, 'cause that's and average number." Lauren continued.

"What's the point of this?"

"Tanc, there are like, a _ton _of tables here!" Lysander said, exasperated with his friend's slowness. "I mean, sire, we'd find her eventually, but there's still quite a lot of tables, and not to mention there are even more bodies blocking the way, so we'd have to push past everyone to go find her. That's a bit of a stretch just to find one person."

"Oh." Tancred's face lit up as it dawned on him. He grinned, tsk-ing. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

"I did!"

"Don't lie!" Tancred accused, giving them a short glare.

"I-"

"Just let it go, Sander," Lauren sighed, slouching against his arm. "Just don't bother."

"Well, do you want me to take you guys there or not? I'm not going to wait forever."

* * *

"You know, Mr. Yewbeam did a pretty good job of teaching you how to dance." Olivia commented, smiling at his sputtering look. "Don't worry, I wasn't stalking you or anything. A little bird just happened to tell me."

"What…who?"

"…I don't know."

"Aww, come on Liv!"

"Nope."

Charlie frowned, but his eyes twinkled. "That is _not _fair at all."

"I know it isn't," Olivia commented laughing still. "But no matter how nice this is, you think you're up for a break? My feet are getting a little numb. He might've taught you to some basic dancing skills, but you aren't a pro yet and my feet sure aren't thanking you for that."

Charlie nodded, chuckling to himself, and lead her towards the snack table. He grabbed one of the min-sandwich/croissant/bread things. "So, um, hey."

"So, um, hello." A familiar voice snickered from behind him.

Charlie scowled. "So, um, jerk."

"So, um, takes one to know one bub." Gabriel smirked in triumph.

Snorting, Charlie replied, "So, um, who says bub anymore?"

"So um, shut up party-pooper."

"So, um, don't start fighting now." Emma smiled, appearing next to a grinning Gabriel. She grabbed four glasses of punch and handed them out. "So how's it been for you two?"

"Oh, pretty good." Olivia answered vaguely. "Although, that little birdie's information was, _apparently, _pretty accurate."

"I know right?" Emma giggled. "It's quite the surprise."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Do you know who the bird is?" Charlie asked Gabriel. "I can't seem to make Liv tell me, and I swear it's driving me insane not knowing."

After a shocked silence. Gabriel coughed, smothering a laugh. "If you honestly can't figure this out yourself, then I don't think I _should _tell you. It's break the info limit that your braing is stretching, and you might end up drooling on a hospital table for the rest of your lifetime. It really isn't that hard."

"Yes it is!" Charlie muttered indignantly. "I don't have brains the size of Godzilla like the rest of you insist on having."

"Yes because you insist on having one the size of plankton."

Charlie looked thoroughly confused, was plankton big?, but he scoffed anyways. "Err…Psh. Yeah, of course." He laughed nervously.

That promptly set everyone off on a "coughing fit," making Charlie scowl harder. "Oh shut up."

"Whoa, wait. Hey, what is that?"

* * *

"Well, that's only a little bit weird."

"What is?"

Tancred raised an eyebrow, slamming his palms against the table. A passing chaperone scowled as it rattled, sending disapproving looks towards him that he failed to notice. "Well, I mean, look!"

"Tanc, I've got eyes you know. I use them a majority of the day, and so I don't honestly think that you ought to tell me to open them. I think I'd know to do that by now, you know?"

"Lysander, this is not the time to use ultimate sarcasm skills!" Tancred scowled. He pointed directly at a chair not 3 feet away. "There. She sat there. But is she there? No."

Lauren laughed. "Looks like she went on a potty break to the little girls' room if you ask me."

"Not without that purse-bag-thing she wouldn't. And I don't think that her chair would be knocked over either. I just got the drinks right now, so she either got one for herself, so I would've seen her at the stands, or someone got that for her." Tancred pursed his lips and scrutinized the area. He sat after setting the cups down. They wobbled from the windiness that suddenly appeared, sloshing red all over the off-white table cloth. "Something," he concluded moodily, "is up."

"Tanc, Sander! Oh, Lauren you too!" Olivia's clear voice rang sharply thorough the crowds of people as she ran hurriedly towards them, holding her dress up to go faster. She skidded to a snot next to them, leaving Charlie, Emma, and Gabriel jog-dancing as quickly and inconspicuously as they could behind her. "Finally, I found you guys." She huffed, leaning over to catch her breath.

"Liv, what art you talking about?" Lauren asked confused, then changed her mind. "wait, breath first." She said, pulling out a chair for the grateful actress.

Gabriel was the first to arrive after Olivia, having long legs and all, and next came Charlie, who dragged a stressed-looking Emma behind him. They each took a seat around the circular table, stealing chairs from separate tables, to regain their breaths.

"What's up guys?" Lysander asked with a friendly nodded towards them. "You guys look, well, like heck."

"Goodie-two-shoes." Lauren scowled.

"Love me for it." Lysander said with a quirky grin, propping his feet up on the table.

"This," Charlie huffed between breaths, "is _not _a time for jokes man. I'd laugh at that if it was."

Tancred leaned closer from his spot across the table, his forehead furrowed with concern to show a single premature stress line. A sick feeling in his gut told he what this was about. "What happened?"

"Elle was-"

"Manfred and Dagbert and the twins and Rose-"

"-dragging-"

"-complete chaos."

"I couldn't agree more." Lauren answered shrewdly, but clear worry was etched on her face. "Someone _please _start from the beginning. And only one person, if you will, it isn't as easy as you might think to listen to a million different stories at the same time."

"Only four dear, exaggeration-"

"Shut up Sander." His girlfriend rolled her eyes at his laugh.

"Okay," Gabriel cleared his throat, rotating his chair to sit backwards on it. "So basically, we were all chillin' by the-"

Tancred couldn't resist. "Oh-ho? What's this? Chillin'? Gabe's going gangsta on us!"

"Shut up." The said boy scowled. "Anyways, see, while we were all _hanging out_-" he threw a glare towards Tancred '-by the snack area, Olivia looked past us and saw something pretty weird swinging open. So she pointed it out, and we dance-jogged over to it. There we found an opened trick door, which now that I think about it was pretty suspicious. Why would they leave it open so carelessly?"

"Just keep going." Charlie urged.

"Well, we couldn't exactly go into it, because that's rather dangerous in itself, so we backed off a little. Just after that, Manfred came through, muttering stuff to himself and looking around to see if anyone noticed and slipped in, followed by Elle, who was being carried by the twins. I don't think she was conscious though; her head was slumped over so we couldn't see her face and she was dragging her feat so I think I can positively say she wasn't."

"What?!" Tancred cried, outrage showing on his flushed face. "Why didn't you-"

"Go after her? Hold on; this just gets better." Emma said bitterly.

"Right well, we couldn't exactly show ourselves, Tanc, seeing as that would give away the fact that we knew something that was going on and we'd just cause an scene and a whole mess of trouble that we couldn't deal with." Olivia added.

"Speaking of which, how did you manage not to be seen?" Lauren asked curiously.

"The wonders of a big dress and a crowd are absolutely _endless_," Charlie shuddered.

"Wait, seriously guys. What happened?" Lysander interrupted.

Gabriel began to speak again. "Well, after they dragged Elle in, Dagbert came by with his girlfriend. She was yelling something at him, we couldn't quite make it out, and then he started saying something, and then she slapped him and left all in tears and whatnot. It was pretty satisfying. But anyways. After that, he went in rubbing his face and stuff."

"So you couldn't go in why?" Tancred scowled.

"Well, even if we didn't care about giving ourselves away, we still couldn't go after her. Right after the drowner went through the passage, the door slammed shut and well, that's it." Gabe shrugged.

Face expressionless, Tancred leaned back into his chair. "You're joking."

Charlie cleared his throat uncomfortably, sighing. He expected this to happen once they told the storm-bringer. "No, Tanc, we aren't."

"You have to be. That's _ridiculously _predictable of them and yet none of us thought of it." The blond barked harshly, crossing his arms. "I mean, who throws a party for no reason right? I knew something was up."

"Tanc, look, don't blame yourself. It's not like we could have expected it." Luren whispered, trying to sooth the oncoming storm, even though she knew it was pointless.

"I couldn't? It was entirely _predictable _though!" With a flourish, Tancred rose from his seat, bringing the storm with him. Small pelts of rain and steadily growing wind swirled around him, wetting the whole group. No one looked too phased though. "Seriously, it's the Bloor's we're dealing with here! A dumb plan like this is _completely _their style, and I must be really stupid not to think something would happen."

"But-"

"Why exactly do they need Elle so much anyways?" His rampage went on. "They could have jumped any of us, yet they keep picking her. I might sound like a jealous twat right now, but I bet it has to do with that little Dagbert creep. Where is he? Never mind. I'm going to find her. Where is this door?"

"Tancred, shut up and sit down." Lysander ordered, the authority in his voice shocking everyone. He seemed more mature at the moment than ever before, his face stony and expressionless. Drums of his ancestors pounded strongly, steadily in the background, betraying his mood and filling the air with an ominous vibration. He was still sitting calmly, feet up and arms lazily crossed behind his head as a pillow, but it looked much more threatening now, if such a relaxed pose could look that way.

Stunned, Tancred stopped walking but didn't walk back. He turned around, stubbornly thrusting out his jaw. "And why should I? Elle is out there, _somewhere_, and they are doing who knows what to her. _I _have to get her back."

"Yes, _we _do." Lysander snarled, emphasizing the we. "But do you honestly think that barging into the door is a smart idea?"

"I don't care if it's smart-"

_Tanc, you should listen to him. You know that it's not._ George whispered.

"You don't even know if you could get in!" If thunder had a voice, Lysander definitely sounded like it at the moment, but he manages to keep his voice under control. A silent flame flickered in his eye. "How do you know it's not password protected, or even worse, voice or finger print locked? If it is, you have no chance of doing anything but making a big fussy scene over _nothing, _and that won't get you anywhere."

_Didn't think of that right? _George interrupted again.

"But-"

"Look," Lauren said softly, but her voice was strung with emotion. "Running into this is not a rational decision. It's just a little bit stupid. I know that you want to go save Elle, and believe me I do too, but I _also _know I'm pretty much powerless and have no idea about half of what anyone is talking about and I am almost sure that going in unprepared is going to result in not only something horrible happening to you but to all of us, _including Elle herself._" She cleared her throat, knowing that one hit home. "I think that the best choice right now would be to head over to Mr. Newburt's house and explain what's going on so that we can formulate a plan. Do you get it?" She directed her attention to Tancred, who looked pained with a struggle of will.

_You know she's right, so listen! _George almost shouted.

_**But Elle, she's…**_

_I know._ George reassured him. _Believe me, I know. But nothing will come of going in there blindly. Just follow what they're saying. Right now they're the most rational._

"But I just want to get her back." He answered quietly, not only to the group but for his restless conscience as well. He looked away.

Olivia smiled back, but she had a thin film of tears. "I think we all do, but Lauren's plan might work better. Don't you think?"

"I…guess."

"Good." Charlie announced, sensing the awkward aura. "So we get to her dad's right? How?"

"No, actually, now we have bigger problems." Emma said shakily. "Now we see if we can get away without running into any of them."

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked.

"I mean, look at every exit there is."

"Oh dear." Olivia nodded. "You're right. This just might be a problem."

* * *

I know. You want to flame me.

And I can honestly say go ahead. No, actually, I want to say something else. Please flame me. It'll make me feel better, that way I know you're not secretly seething at me and harboring a grudge. I mean, I don't mind doing anything for maybe a month at most, but honestly it's been maybe half a friggen year (or possibly less, I don't know)! That's ridiculous, and even I have to admit that. I was devastated when I lost internet, and when I got it back it was just before winter break, and I was swamped with homework, and then during winter break I was up in some mountains and there's nothing there… UGH. Yes. Just excuses, and they shouldn't be accepted. But I am seriously sorry.

And I am so mean, I left the chapter with a little Cliffie. Isn't that cruel?

{On the bright side, I know the ending. I've written the last chapter already, now I just have to fill the gap from here to then…}

GAH.

~tubs.

WORD COUNT: 5730


	30. Sharing Spaces

**Credits to Nimmo.**

* * *

"How are we getting past that?"

"What do you mean "get past that" ?" Charlie seethed through clenched teeth. "There is no "getting past that!" It's obviously impossible for us to even think about that! The only possible result is the inevitable outcome of us getting catapulted into the ocean, and I don't think we're going to be enjoying out time there, seeing as we won't be enjoying anything as a bunch of soulless chucks of floating matter. It's like getting through a boulder! Impossible. Impractical. Unfathomable!"

After a shocked silence of everyone gaping openly at the mess haired boy, Tancred spoke first. "Holy crap. Did I just hear that?"

"Charlie, you _know_ words like that?" Gabriel asked in amazement.

Charlie flushed. He stuttered, trying to defend himself.

"Would you guys quit joking around?" Emma scowled after a moment, although she still managed to make the sentence sound sweet and angelic instead of barbarically rude. "This is a serious crisis. Like Charlie so, uh, _elaborately_ described, we're obviously never going to be able to make it past either entrance/exit with the Weedons guarding them so fiercely. We need to find a way to get out of here, and quick, so we can get some adult-ish help for Elle!"

"Right," Lauren choked out, shaking away the stun. "Of course. Uh, can you guys think of any different escape routed we can use to get out of here?"

Charlie hesitated, then decided to tell. "Well, there is Cook's secret window in her dorm."

"Where?"

"It's near the kitchens somewhere, I think."

"No, that won't work." Lysander muttered. "To get there, we'd have to leave this hall and physically get into the schooling area, and even though that door isn't blocked, I don't honestly think we'll be able to get that far without one of the Weedons noticing and beating us to a pulp. No…What we need is something in this area that's easy to get to and unnoticeable so it doesn't look suspicious to be there."

"I might know one but I don't think you guys will like it." Olivia piped in, looking like she had to keep herself from laughing.

"Come on," Gabriel scoffed. "If we're trying to escape and that works, I'm pretty sure we'd like it."

"No. You won't," Olivia insisted, shaking her head to clear away her smile, "I literally mean all you guys or men or boys or whatever guys your age want to call themselves."

"Liv, what do you mean? Where exactly is this exit?" Tancred asked warily, already guessing at what it was. He ran a hand through his normally spiky hair, sighing. "It can't be what I think it is, is it?"

"Well that depends. What do you think it is?" She responded, smirking.

After a moment's hesitation, he answered, "The ladies' room?"

* * *

"This is going to ruin my reputation as a man forever," Lysander whispered harshly, refusing to step even a foot closer to the girls. He and the other boys kept firm spots just outside the entrance of the room, refusing to budge. "This is ridiculous. I can't go in there! Why doesn't the mens' room have a window?"

"I don't know, but he's right. We _can't_ go in there," Tancred agreed, nodding solemnly. "It's like an unwritten law. Guys don't enter the ladies' room. It's just not like that."

"You guys, really, you all are being completely ridiculous," Emma scowled, crossing her arms. She stood in front of them as the other two girls worked on prying open the large window. "All you are going to do is open the window and slip out. See? No harm done, whatsoever. It's not like you'll be in there doing our business or whatnot. No one's in here either; they're all on the dance floor so they won't be able to ridicule you or anything because they haven't seen it. It's just a simple transition from in Bloor's to _out_ of Bloor's."

"No." Charlie growled stubbornly. "I won't go in there. I'll be infected!"

"What do you mean inf…Gabe!" Emma begged, using him as a desperate last resort. She looked at him with such adorably pitiful puppy eyes her boyfriend literally had to look in some other random direction to avoid being completely suckered in. "Please, you have to help me convince the others to get in here! Please!"

"I…" He gulped, looking between his girlfriend's pleading eyes and the murderous looks of the other guys around him. All of them, even Emma, had evil glimmers in their eyes, promising him no mercy if he consented with the wrong group. He sighed, knowing he would regret his answer. "Em, look, I'm sorry, but they are right. I can't just abandon the guy code. 1, you know, "bros before…," I'll just say girls and uh…I forgot what this one is but it's very very important! What you broke the girl one? You'd feel horrible and be, or feel, like a disgrace as a girl right?"

"I guess," Emma muttered in a small voice, looking at her feet sadly. She sniffed and Gabriel could see her watery blue eyes tremble, like she was holding in the tears that threatened to well up. "Okay then. You guys just stay out here and do your code thing."

"Em!" Gabriel struggled, feeling immense guilt weight down on him. She turned away, stepping to turn in the opposite direction so he couldn't see her face. "Wait, don't cry. C'mon. Look, I'll-"

"Don't do it!" Tancred hissed through his teeth. Not taking his glinting eyes off Emma, he added, "It's a trick. All girls are fake criers. Don't fall for it. We _can't _go in there!"

Gabriel looked distraught, gaping widely, making his long face look leaner and sadder. He flipped his floppy hair away from his eyes, and his head swiveled between a sniffling Emma and the vicious glares of the other young men around him. He made a weird, strangled sound like he was chocking before saying, "But-"

"Seriously dude, if we have to walk in there because of you, I will personally make sure that you cannot move any of your limbs for days.

""Lysander!" Gabriel gasped. "That's harsh."

"So don't do it!"

"Fine." Emma cried, covering her face with trembling hands. Her voice came out muffled. "Fine. You guys just stay there stubbornly and find your own way out, while me and Olivia and Lauren find our own way to save Elle, _alone_, seeing as you guys don't even have the will to break this stupid code of yours to go help her. I see now," With that said, she ran through the door to the restroom, heaving a sob.

After a couple silent minutes, one boy twitched, groaning loudly before giving in. "Wait!" Tancred shouted, pushing past the crowd of stunned boys to run in after her. He stopped just before the door, looking petrified, but he slammed it open. "It's not like that! I didn't really think about that part! Wait, I'll go too!"

"Did he just…no!" Charlie gasped.

"I think he just did." Gabriel said, shaking his head.

Eyes cold and a deep set grimace showing, Lysander strutted towards the door to kick it open. "Guy code two: Don't let your mate go alone. Dammit. I am going to kill him!"

* * *

"So it worked," Olivia observed, from her spot by the window. She turned to grin at Lauren. "I told you it would work."

Lauren scowled, looking at the tiles darkly. "You don't know that, they haven't come through _yet_ have they?"

"Oh, it'll work."

"That's _not _fair, you're an actress."

"So?" Olivia snorted. "It's only common sense that they'd go after the guilt trip. It always works with nice guys like them. Always."

"That was so mean." Emma whispered as she closed the door daintily behind her. She wiped away the fake tears. "I cannot believe that _I _did that. Me!"

"Don't worry too much, Em," the actress sighed, waving a hand through the air. "Your hard work will probably show sooner or later. And plus, they'll thank you for this one day."

"But why did _I _have to be the one who did it?" Emma whined, frowning as she walked over to the window. "Now I just feel plain bad."

"Oh, poor baby," Lauren cooed, hugging the blond. "I'm sorry, but _you're _the only one that the act would work on. Olivia and I are _obviously _too devious to pull off a plan like that with these boys. If they didn't know us, then it might've worked, but they do so we'd give it away."

"I guess," Emma replied, sighing. "I just hope Gabe doesn't hate me for this."

"He won't." Olivia reassured her.

A loud bang erupted, startling the girls enough so Olivia jumped out of her seat. Tancred practically ran into the room, little droplets of rain decorating the floor around him. He looked around at the near blinding white walls and cringed as if he was in actual pain. He took a deep breath and the rain died down a little, but regenerated after he gruffly muttered, "I'm here. Now let's get out of here. I don't like being in here."

A dark clad foot kicked the door, again making it swing to the wall with enough force to create another big noise. The other three boys, all scowling, made their way into the bathroom. Charlie eyes everything warily, moving squeamishly like the sink might rip off and "infect" him. Gabriel just sighed, careful to avoid contact with anything around him. Lysander gave his best friend a dark death glare, but the storm boy just returned it, raising an eyebrow to challenge him. All the guys looked pained and uncomfortable in their positions.

"Okay. First off, I am going to strangle you slowly as you sleep Tanc," Lysander said with a voice full of bottled malice. "Next, I'm in here and I _really_ want to get out. So I call the window first."

"We're calling window times?" Lauren asked, amused.

"Hahaha haha ha oh hardy har har. Oh god, my lungs."

"Sander, that's probably the _worst_ fake laugh I've ever heard. And I've heard a lot of fake laughs in my time." Olivia rubbed her nose, unimpressed.

He gave her a blank stare, then huffed, making a mad dash for the open window. Maybe 5 feet before he got to it, Lysander jumped, angling his body to go through the window. With almost perfect precision, he sailed through the opening and gracefully rolled on to a stop on the slightly damp grass. He turned, waiting for everyone else.

"Show off." Tancred accused, but he grinned and the drizzle around him nearly vaporized completely. He ran after him, surprising the remaining people by copying the exact same move, although his landing ended up more awkward as a long leg got in his way. Its owner regretted it after realizing that Tancred would actually land on it rather than crashing. Lysander cursed, grabbing his leg in pain.

Everyone gaped towards the window, mouths and eyes open in shock. Charlie recovered first. "What the hell was that you guys?" He struggled to say.

"Acrobatics class." Lysander managed to shrug.

"That's how we met really. Well, not counting the time where my old man had to face jury duty to defend his case that the storm that blew down 16 mailboxes and a car _wasn't _his fault, because there we only saw each other, we couldn't talk. But yeah. My dad sent me there because he figured it would be easier to learn to ride a storm later in life." Tancred frowned. "Although, I _still _haven't learned that."

"Mom wanted me to be in the circus," Lysander grimaced. "She was pregnant though, so I think it was a temporary bout of insanity. Plus, she pulled me out right after she had my little brat of a sister."

"Good old days," Tancred smiled wistfully, sitting on the greenery. "When I was just a carefree little four-year-old-lad. Ah…"

"Yeah, you never forget stuff like that," Lysander agreed, leaning on a tree nearby.

They both sighed in unison. The kids in the bathroom all quirked their eyebrows, smiles tugging at their own lips. The same thought ran through each of their heads: _Weren't they mad at each other?_

Olivia laughed. Leaping at the window, she maneuvered towards the boys with a well-staged cart wheel. She grinned, winking. "Gymnastics can beat your acrobats any day."

"I think you mean _ballet _dear," Lauren retaliated, coming to a stop with a short pirouette and a low bow. "It's not as wimpy as you think, and I bet I can find a couple people who would swear it's a deadly sport."

Gabriel, Charlie, and Emma looked at each other bewildered, but just laughed as they climbed out.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Mr. Newburt there?" Came a friendly male vice through the phone's speakers. It sounded strangely familiar, but it was hard to tell why seeing as speakerphone always messed up the audio's sound.

Richard Newburt groaned as he dropped the laundry basket he'd desperately been trying to balance in one hand as he answered the phone onto his shoeless foot. Sighing, he grabbed the phone and turned it back to the original non-speaker form. He cradled it between on shoulder and his face and picked up the basket of dirty clothes. "Yes, this is him."

"Yes, thanks god," they said in relief, and instantly a round of cheering sounded loudly. Richard winced and found himself suddenly thankful to whoever he was speaking with after they said, "Shut up guys! You're going to drive him deaf!"

Clearing his throat, Richard asked, "Who exactly is this?"

"Oh, right, I completely forgot to introduce myself. Sorry. Uh, hello Mr. Newburt, this is Tancred."

Again, the basket fell, but this time Richard hardly registered the pain as it hit his foot. "Tancred? Tancred Torsson you mean? Not to sound rude, but what are you doing calling me? Aren't you at the dance? Is Elle there? Oh my god, is she alright? Is that why you-"

"Mr. Newburt-"

"Richie will do, or Richard if you prefer, but please don't call me _that_, it makes me sound old." Mr. Newburt couldn't help but add.

"…Okay. Richie. Yes, that Tancred, not that I know of any others. No, we're not at the dance-"

"WHAT?! Why not?"

"Look, I can explain later. But do you think you would be able to pick us all up at the school?"

"The school?" Richard echoed feeling confused. "But I thought you weren't at the dance?"

Apparently Tancred had sighed into his phone, making it crackle for a second. He took a sharp breath. "Well, we are on the school grounds, but for reasons that I don't think are suitable for over the phone discussion, we, meaning most of the girls and us guys, kind of…well, ran off might be the _easiest_ suitable depiction of it, but I swear it's for a reason!"

"What do you mean "_most_ of the girls?" Who isn't with you?" Richard asked, but a sick feeling spread over him. He knew who it was.

"Sir," Tancred said softly, not at all bothering to disguise the worry in his voice, "Elle's been kidnapped again."

* * *

"Okay, yeah, I know, I'm _sorry_, but…" Tancred sighed, holding his blue phone a little ways from his ear as he cringed from the relentless noise pouring from it. "Yes, I know it was. But…Okay. Thanks. Not yet, but I will. Okay. Thanks. Bye."

Tancred pressed the end button and slid his phone close. He groaned, running a hand over his face before pocketing it in a secret compartment of his jacket. Rubbing at his temples sorely, he turned and walked back to the group of kids hiding in the cover of a couple trees.

"So what'd he say?" Emma asked worriedly, still holding onto Gabriel's arm from their position in the tree. Her dress hung down below her, almost giving them away with it's pinkness. Tancred ignored it. "Did you…tell him?"

"Well, obviously. What _else_ would I do?" He snapped, then silently berated himself as he saw her hurt reaction and Gabe's accusing glance. "No wait, I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have crabbed out to you. Yes, I did. He didn't exactly take it too well. Actually, he yelled at me for quite a while, that's kind of why I moved over there." _Not to mention everyone acting like rainbows and sunshine with their pretty little girlfriends is not helping my mood. _

Olivia sighed, already expecting that. She crawled out from behind a dense bush, dragging Charlie with her. She stumbled to stand straight and brushed out a couple stray leaves. "Well, that is kind of expected, seeing as his daughter got kidnapped _twice_ now in the past 3 months."

"I know." Tancred responded, swinging onto a higher branch in the second tree and taking a seat. He frowned. "But it wasn't exactly my fault."

Lysander snorted, climbing down onto Tanc's branch from a higher position. He landed on his friend's branch, making it wobble dangerously, but it held. Lauren did the same from the other tree. "If all it took for you to admit that was a lecture from Mr. Newburt-"

"Richie."

"Huh?"

Tancred flushed, coughing uncomfortably. "He said to call him that."

"Okay then. If all it took for you to willingly admit that was a lecture from Richie, then I would've hunted him down years ago and made him yell at you every freaking day you ever complained about anything, which is pretty much _daily_."

Tancred scowled. "Well he did include a long list of probably never-used-anymore, old school insults, so I can't help it if I feel slightly offended."

"I might have to borrow that list."

"What?"

Lysander laughed, clapping his friends shoulder. Tancred grunted. "Just joking man. But seriously, what'd he say?"

Tancred sighed again. "Well, first he demanded to know what was going on, but I told him that it wasn't exactly a smart idea to be talking about it on the _Bloor _campus. He scowled and whined about that for a while, but then asked me a bunch of questions about what had happened, and I had to tell him the same thing again," Tancred coughed again, flushing. "I never realized this, but people get rather irrational when some really horrible hits them, such as their, uh, _girlfriend_ or daughter gets kidnapped. You know, weird stuff like that." He looked down.

Lysander smiled faintly; that was as close to a "Sorry for being a straight up git back there Sander, I now know what I did was stupid" as he was ever going to get, so he might as well embrace it. "S'okay mate."

"I don't know _what _you're talking about," Tancred declared, holding his nose up high with arms crossed in defiance, but anyone could see the bright tips of his ears.

"Okay guys, we love your sappy little friendship moment there, but I really want to know what he said," Charlie grinned, slinging an arm around Olivia as he noticed her shiver.

"You're just jealous that you don't have those." Lauren commented, swinging herself onto the branch her boyfriend inhabited. Again, it threatened to crack under the combined weight of three teens, but it steadily held. "Now, keep going."

"Right. Anyways, after that he babbled about a bunch of stuff like "what do you children get into these days?! Why, back in _my _day…" blah blah blah. Then he finally agreed to pick us up by the gates, after a long speech that kind of bruised my sore ego and practically forcing me to call all of your parents. Seeing as we guys were all going to stay over at Gabe's and all you girls were going to go to either Emma's place or Elle's, I guess the only thing we've got to do is call Gabe's parents and Miss Ingledew to tell them we'll be having a sleep over at Elle's or something."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Lauren looked around and shrugged. "Okay then. Tanc, you go do your thing."

"My…thing?"

"You know, go talk to everyone's parents or _whatever_."

Tancred rolled his eyes, but he jumped off the tree to make a couple phone calls.

* * *

"So how are we going to get over there if we're here?" Charlie pondered, scratching his head through a dense mess of hair. He felt Olivia reach up and try to tame it, and he tried shrugged her hands off gently; there really was no point in trying. She laughed but persisted anyways.

"Well, we have to get over them. The gates I mean."

"I know that Sander, but _how_?" Charlie pointed out, enticing many murmurs.

He felt Olivia get close to his ear. "You're actually acting smart tonight. That's _so_ insane," She whispered. Charlie laughed, but didn't reply.

"Well," Lysander said thoughtfully, sending Tancred, who was busy calling and explaining things to other parents, a look. "I figured that since we don't exactly have anything to grab onto and the girls are wearing their frilly little dresses that we can see under-"

"Sander!" Lauren gasped, appalled, as she slapped his arm.

"Ow! If you let me finish, you would've _known _that I was going to say that climbing is pretty much out of the option. So what we have left is trying to ram over the gates or have either me or Tanc or Emma _throw_ everyone over." He grinned.

"What?!" Emma squeaked. 'Why me?"

"Well, because you can change into a giant bird and carry someone right?"

Emma didn't answer right away, but when she did, she didn't sound too sure of herself. "I don't think so. As a bird I'm pretty delicate, and I have all the muscle I do as a human, which goes without saying is not very much. I don't think I'd have enough strength to carry anyone over the gate without falling."

Lysander frowned, obviously that put a damper in his plans, but he hurriedly pushed away the negatives. "Okay then, Tanc and I will just throw everyone over, seeing as ramming the gates down will be too hard and too attention-grabbing, no matter how satisfying."

Olivia stopped, her brow creased. "What do you mean by throw us over? I really hope it isn't literal."

"No, I'm not _that _insane." Sander replied dryly. "What I mean was I'll call up my ancestors and they'll pretty much pick us all up. Then Tanc, and I have to check with him on this, can summon up some nifty little wind trick or something and carry my ancestors who are carrying us over using it. Brilliant isn't it?"

"You know I'd say yes to something like that, but I really don't know if I _can_," Tancred, who'd returned just in time to hear his part of the plan, said uneasily. "I don't have that much control over anything yet."

Lauren answered this time. "Didn't Elle kind of teach you?"

"Well, yeah, but we only did little things, like pencils and pillows and at most a slightly heavy textbook." He shrugged. "I didn't really want to risk using anything big and breakable."

"Oh," she said.

"But you _can _try." Gabriel replied quietly. "I mean, you know, try it here to see if that might work. Try to lift someone off the floor into the tree. If you can do something like that, then you can probably do it to Sander's spirits easily."

"Yeah," Charlie nodded enthusiastically. "It couldn't hurt."

"But that's it; I don't want to be responsible if anyone does get hurt," Tancred admitted tersely. "I mean, what if I drop them?"

"It's doubtful they'd break anything." Emma chimed in thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure that the drop from the tree to the floor isn't enough to fatally injure anyone, maybe a bruise or a scrape, but not a broken bone. And with this much grass as padding, we should be fine. At least, I think so, and I learn everything from my aunt's books."

"But-"

"Just do it." Lysander commanded, that serious aura around him again. He shifted, and it was more light-hearted. "And plus, if you can at least do most of the work, my spirits should be able to help stabilize everything, make the landing less awkward, and provide extra security and protection should anything actually go wrong. Which I doubt will happen." He added encouragingly.

"I'll do it." Charlie stood straight up. "I've had my fair share of falls and more than enough tumbles around everything so something like falling out of a tree if you fail, which you won't, won't hurt me too bad."

After hesitating for a few moments, Tancred reluctantly gave in (with a push from George of course). He had Charlie stand a little closer to the tree ("One foot away or so might be best," he had said, echoing Elle's instructions) and closed his eyes in concentration, trying to remember what she had said.

* * *

"_No, stand straighter. If you slouch while doing this, it might now do in the right direction you want it too, or it'll go too high, too low, or practically anything." Elle had criticized him one day, making him stand perfectly. "And clear your mind; it helps."_

_He sighed, feeling it already ache his normally slouched shoulders. "Is this really necessary?"_

"_Yes." She rolled her eyes. "Would I teach it to you if it wasn't?"_

_Tancred paused to consider it. "Yeah. You really would."_

"_Well, maybe, but…well, just go with it okay?" Elle cleared her throat resuming the teaching. "Now just stop thinking. Close your eyes and imagine it happening."_

"_Uh, why?" Tancred had asked with one eye crack open._

"_Just do it and you'll know. And keep picturing it too." _

_Tancred shrugged. He didn't quite get it, but if she said so…_

_So he did. He envisioned the pillow being thrown up, propelled by an invisible launch of wind, and landing on his bed. He kept that thought in his head, repeating it over and over._

_A sudden warmth tingled at his fingertips, making him utter a gasp, and he opened his eyes to see what it was. He looked at his hands, looking for some sort of glove or something, but couldn't find anything, leaving him confused. He looked to his right, where Elle sat with an amused smirk. "What was…?"_

"_Just look at your pillow." She suggested._

_Tancred swiveled around, expecting to find it still on the desk, and his jaw dropped at what he saw. Papers were strewn around everywhere, but there wasn't a pillow on it. He looking daringly at the soft blue comforter of his bed and nearly fainted. It was there._

_Instantly he turned around, embracing her. She laughed, returning his hug with good humor. After a few moments, he let go, but still held her in front of him. She smiled charmingly, winking. "Told you you could do it." _

_He grinned widely and, after thinking for a quick second, planted a quick kiss on her lips._

* * *

A faint smile graced him after that memory hit, but it also reminded him of the dull ache that she was gone. He shook his head, clearing it away. He had other things to do, more important things to think about.

_Are you getting rational?_ George asked excitedly. _You are! You really are!_

Tancred closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath as he pictured it. Charlie, with wind around his feet, and then Charlie in the tree, maybe 8 feet into the branches. It took longer than he thought, and he felt as if he had to focus more of his energy into it, but he eventually felt it. The magic pulsed through his body, making him feel relaxed. It ran thick through his veins, and he could feels it ready to bend at his command. Tancred sucked in a breath and focused on that image.

Then he heard a yelp. Charlie stood on one of the highest branches in the tree Lysander was sitting in, clinging tightly to the thin stem. He had his eyes closed and his suit jacket flapped around him wildly. He managed to open them after finding himself stationary. Looking down, he hissed quietly, then stared directly at the storm-bringer. Even with the distance, the message was clear: "get me down!"

Grinning wildly, Tancred did it again, although this time he peeked at what happened half way through, while Charlie was squirming in midair. Fascinated, he kept looking, seeing wind swirl around the boy like a tornado, sinking lower and lower to the ground. After landing, Charlie sank to his knees, breathless. Everyone ran to his side.

"So, what was it like?" Gabe asked, thrusting out a hand for his friend to take.

Charlie laughed shakily, using the hand to pull himself up. Both boys grunted. " To be honest…Well, was it supposed to tickle? Because _that _sure did."

* * *

"Anyone missing?" Lysander asked, trying to look past the fate to count everyone.

"Nope. Everyone but you is here Sander." Tancred shouted from behind the dark wall. He was the first to go over, and the whole time he was doing this he kept alert to what was happening as he did it. It was pretty damn amazing, he had to admit it. The whole thing brought him beaming, and it hadn't disappeared at all. Maybe he was getting some control over this little storm gig.

"Alright then," Lysander said, smiling crookedly. "My turn, huh? Well, it's now or never. Don't drop me!" He warned.

"I won't. Believe me," Tancred reassured his friend.

"If you say so." After inhaling deeply, Lysander started chanting, banging his palms over drums that weren't there. He kept at this for a few seconds, starting a nice steady rhythm, but then he stopped. He said something hastily, and instantly the image of two traditional African warrior spirits appeared before him. They smiled, clapping shoulders, and generally saying something between each other. Again, another African word left his lips, and the soldier shared amused looks before lifting him onto their shoulders. They peered through the holes in the fancy gate and nodded.

Tancred inhaled deeply, then willed the wind to gather about him. It did, and he pushed it towards his friend, who sat comfortably twiddling his thumbs atop his ancestors, acting like he did something like it every day. The wind lifted him and the spirits up into the air and over the fence, barely treading on the high ends. It set him gently on the floor before disappearing, as his ancestors did after bowing.

"That _was_ pretty awesome." Lysander admitted, brushing himself off. He looked around, making sure everyone was there, before turning to Tancred. "Like a roller coaster or something actually."

"I know. Bask in my glory." Tancred sighed happily, stretching his long arms up.

"Ha ha. Right." Lauren muttered sarcastically, pulling her boyfriend down to sit by her on the curb. He consented, humming happily as she unconsciously moved closer to him as he sat.

Tancred rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"So, we just wait here right?" Charlie questioned boredly, trying and failing to keep himself from noticing a stray pair of ants walking by. He stared intently at them, loosing focus until Olivia, who had noticed, kicked him lightly. He smiled self-consciously before clearing his throat. "Um, so how long did he say he would take? Because it's not exactly comfortable out here."

"It's cold." Emma muttered softly, and immediately Gabriel offered her his coat. She tried to deny it, but gave in at his subtle stern look of concern. "Don't freeze."

"I won't." He promised. "I'm a guy. I have a body heat of infinity."

Tancred shook his head softly, chuckling at the obvious looks the couples shared. "Well, he said it would take him a little longer, because he had to stick clothes in the washer, although I think he just needed some time to calm down and try not to kill us. Other than that, he said he lived about…uh…"

Lauren supplied the answer. "Their house is about 15 minutes away from the school."

"Right." Tancred glanced at his phone, informing him that the time was 8:24 PM. "Well, it's been about 20 minutes since I called him, so we shouldn't have to wait long."

Soon after those words left his mouth, a sleek black Mustang pulled up to the curb. The window opened, sliding down to reveal Mr. Newburt's- or Richie's- haggard face. He looked at each kid that was there, counting 7, and sighed. "Well, it might be a tight squeeze, but I'm sure you'll all fit if you don't mind it."

Everyone nodded in agreement, going in one by one. The convertible's hood had to go up to hide the fact that so many kids were sitting over each other and on the floor which made it all the more uncomfortable, but eventually 6 of the kids managed to get in the back; Charlie and Gabriel on the floor, Lysander squeezed between Lauren and Emma, and Olivia sprawled on top of them. Tancred sighed, then hesitantly sat in the passenger's seat. He sat stiffly, not acknowledging anything, just staring straight.

Richard released a pent up sigh, looking at his daughter's boyfriend. "I might be mad that she's been taken, but you know I don't blame you for this right?"

Immediately Tancred slouched into his normal position, blowing out in relief. "Oh." He stated simply, giving Richard a grin. "Well, I didn't but that makes this a lot less awkward."

Richard returned the smile.

* * *

"We're here."

Tancred snapped out of his daze, looking up at the familiar blue house. It brought back a few memories, namely about beds, that made his mouth turn up without him noticing. He sighed, climbing out of the car.

It was an awkward process, getting everyone out. First came the two in the front, obviously, and then Olivia squirmed around until she could slide out. Then it was a matter of who should go after that. At first, they had decided on Charlie and Gabe stretching through the seats to somehow get out, but that plan quickly went away after Lysander screamed about something touching him inappropriately. Then the seated kids tried to get out, but that resulted in problems of "Who stepped on my foot!?"

"We're getting nowhere." Tancred pointed out blandly.

"No kidding!" Charlie snorted, rubbing his feet. "My feet hurt from standing around in these uncomfortable things all day, and it doesn't help that other certain someone's thought they should step on them."

Gabriel huffed in defiance.

With a twisted frown, Richard observed the situation. "Well, I guess that's why I don't normally shove six kids in my backseat." He muttered to himself. After a moment, he clapped. "Okay. I got it. Emma, get out."

"Okay…" She said, maneuvering around Gabriel.

"Good." He nodded, helping her climb out. "Now Gabe."

It went on like that, in a zigzag to avoid as many problematic injuries as they could. After Lauren stepped onto the gray pavement, The oldest man beamed. "Now we're getting somewhere." He said, making his way to the tall oak doors to the house. He pulled out a ring of keys and flipped through them, looking for the right one. "Now which _was_ it? Red?"

"Mr. New- ah, Richard, are those colored?" Olivia asked, a shining look in her eye.

"Yes they are." Richard answered. "Thanks for noticing. These guys were a lot harder to find than you'd think." He turned, smiling a very familiar smile, but then returned his attention to the ring. "No, wait, red is the shed, black is the snack…bar…So it must be…" He pushed a key into the door hole, turning it, but frowned. "No, not orange…that's the car…"

"Wow," Olivia sighed.

"Did you…_forget _what you're house key was?" Tancred asked, astonished.

Richie stiffened. "No!" He said indignantly. "I know which ones they are. I just…the color seems to have taken a nap _away_ from my brain and I can't seem to uh, wake it up. Yes, that's it."

Tancred's smile wavered, threatening to laugh. Now he knew where Elle got it from.

"Got it!" Richard exclaimed, holding up a yellow key in triumph. "I knew it was yellow all along."

"Right." Lauren said, patting his arm fondly as she walked in.

Immediately, everyone headed for the couches, kicking off their shoes and throwing down their purses with equal sighs of relief. Heels and flats and dressier shoes of that like flew everywhere, but they all landed in a near neat pile at the end of the carpet. Lauren smiled dreamily. "I never thought that piece of furniture could feel like _heaven_."

Mr. Newburt held back remarks about his now dirty floor. Instead, he looked at the group of kids, who at their current state of formal attire, looked only slightly ridiculous on his couch the way they were, sprawled all over things. He reluctantly retorted, "If you're uncomfortable in what you're wearing, meet me upstairs. I think that you could either fit mine or Elle's old stuff."

While some where less loud about it, everyone let out a sigh of relief. "Shorts and tee might do me some good." Lauren nodded, feeling herself melt at the prospect of more familiar clothing.

* * *

"So now that we're all settled- wait, we are all settled right?" Richard asked, looking around at the circle of children from his kick-back chair by the unlit fireplace. He released the footrest, leaning on it.

"Well, are you sure she doesn't have anything, I don't know, _smaller_?" Emma asked shyly, trying to hold up a pair of work-out shorts by holding the sides and keeping her shoulders arched to keep the shirt from slipping down. All the while, Gabriel's face was turned to the side, glowing brightly, and he kept his eyes away from her. "This isn't exactly working."

"Can't you tighten them with that string thing?" Lauren asked, looking over at her friend. "I mean, it's not _that_ loose is it?"

"I'm a double zero." Emma answered dryly. "Not _quite_ at a 3 yet."

"That's…a big difference." Olivia admitted. "I can't say that it fits completely, but…Here," She grabbed a small handful of safety pins from her hair, which should have surprised anyone save the few who knew her, and beckoned the blond over. "You just clip here…and here…and ta-da!"

Gabriel peeked through his fingers, and sent out a pent up breath of relief. "OKay, now that that's over." He muttered, offering a little grin to Emma's embarrassed one.

"Right." Tancred said sarcastically, and a wind blew through the room. Richie gave him a disapproving glare. "Uh, sorry. Well, anyways. Yeah."

"Yeah." Richard repeated, staring at his fingers. "So can _anyone_ tell me what is going on? And start from the top."

"I think that it'd be easier if we all tell you the parts that we were in, so it's easier." Lauren suggested, then she looked over towards Tancred. He ran a hand through his hair, which sparked with electricity and stood now straight up, even without the gel in it. "I think you go first."

"Right." He coughed, looking suddenly shy as everyone stared at him. "Well, me and Elle-"

"Elle and I."

"_Elle and I _were at the tables, sitting down and chatting each other- uh, sorry. Um, we were just talking because dancing isn't really my thing and then I offered to get drinks, because it was a little awkward and I didn't exactly know what to do…"

"You need a lesson in romance, man." Lysander remarked sadly.

"Whatever. So she was like 'alright' and I was like 'okay, well I'll go get them then' and so I left…and that's kind of the end of my part."

"Well, that's not very much," Richard said, a perky grin on his face despite the situation. "And here I thought you and my little girl were going to do all kinds of-"

"I think it's now the Charlie-and-Olivia-and-Gabe-and-Emma part." Lauren all but interrupted.

"Of course." Olivia picked up. She spoke with hand motions, typical of a dramatic kid. "Charlie and I had decided that dancing was a good idea, and so we did, but a little later my feet started hurting and stuff so we went over to the snack bar."

"Gabriel and I were pretty much doing the same, but my feet didn't hurt." Emma added.

"And after that, me and Charlie-"

"Charlie and I."

"…We had this joke thing and then we all started cracking up, and then Olivia here saw this weird thing swing open-"

"It really was weird. We were at a dance!"

"-and so we went over to investigate and long story short, we saw the Branko twins carrying Elle into a trap door with Manfred and Dagbert- well, he came later, but he was still part of it." Gabriel finished.

"Yes, and after which we couldn't go after Elle because the door closed after Dagbert entered it. We still know where it is," Emma added hastily, "But I don't think we can get through."

Mr. Newburt didn't exactly shake with rage, nor did he seem shaken up at all. His face was stony. Rigid. No expression could clearly be placed as his except for just _blank_. He didn't look mad, sad, happy, or incredulous; just simply he was _blank_.

Maybe too blank?

The kids sat there in silence, all mulling over their own thoughts and staring at the utterly uneventfulness going on. Several uncomfortable coughs and shifty gazes to avoid others were made, and everything was tense for awhile, until he spoke. Richard stood, posture still perfectly straight, and broke out a forced grin. "Well," he said, dusting off dust. "This is quite a pickle."

Nobody answered, just staring at each other was enough of a conversation. "Right, well, it's getting late." He looked at his wrist and seemed surprised to not find a watch there. "Or, I think it is. I think I'll just head to bed now. Lauren, you know where the extra blankets are."

He walked up the stairway, making it creek, and into the hallway, where he disappeared into one of the doors.

Charlie cleared his throat, toeing the carpet. "So are we having a major sleepover here-" he gestured around the living room, "-or in her bedroom?"

"I think we'll split into groups." Lysander, being the eldest, confirmed.

"Sounds good to me," Lauren shrugged, walking to the cabinet nearby. She opened it, grabbing a couple pillows and blankets for everyone to share. Frowning, she added, "We might not have enough blankets though.

Lysander grinned, "Hey, so, Lauren. If there isn't then…you wanna share with me?"

* * *

"I don't wanna share with you," Charlie grumbled, trying his hardest not to touch the other boy. "This is weird."

"And insanely uncomfortable." Gabriel grunted, shifting away from his blanket-mate and farther into the couch. "I can't do this."

"Suck it up." Tancred muttered from near them. At least you're not sharing with a blanket hog."

"I'm sorry my tall frame needs so much warmth." Lysander hissed, then winced, grabbing his cheek. "She didn't really have to punch me though. Why doesn't she slap like other girls?"

* * *

So, here's the next installment. Fortunately, I have internet now. Horraahh!

R&R!

~tubs.

WORDSIWROTE: 7231


	31. That Garbage Guy from Sesame Street

**Credits to Nimmo.**

"So, do we have a plan?" Charlie asked, yawning as he sat down at the table. Absently, he ran a hand through his hair, inevitably screwing it up more than it was normally and causing random parts of it to stick up in their own directions. Tancred grinned to himself. He should see himself. "You know, 'cause we kinda need one, and sooner is normally better. I think."

Oh. Right. _That whole last night thing hadn't been a crazy dream, _Tancred thought darkly, making his previous grin disappear. "Tut wut, spit clown, eep," Tancred mumbled through a mouthful of food. He glared across the table, but the fact that his cheeks were rounded and full to bursting ruined the effect. He took another bite, chewing the food like he had his own personal vendetta against the poor things.

"Uh…What's a spit clown?" Charlie blinked, watching Tancred cautiously. "Don't like, all clowns spit?"

Tancred rolled his eyes, but he forked some more food into his mouth.

"Sit down, shut up, eat," Lysander translated, lazily walking back from the kitchen. He looked at Tancred curiously as he took a seat. "The real question, however, what did those poor pancakes ever do to harm you? Well, that and why are _you _up at _thi_shour? It's pretty early; even I have to admit. I mean, you haven't gotten up before 8 on a weekend since…" His eyes widened comically. "Damn. I don't even know anymore!"

"But rup, Yanger," Tancred sputtered, trying to shovel more food into his mouth as he talked. "Iz pot dat wizz ff pa dewll."

"Yes, it is that big of a deal!" Lysander admonished, leaning back on his chair. He crossed his arms as he did this- making Charlie's slight ADD wonder how he even kept balanced upright on two legs- and seemed to actually take the situation seriously. Lysander scoffed, a faraway look in his eyes warning them of the potential his words would have. "Like, you're not even being grumpy too. Normally you're always grumpy after you get up, even on those days you stay sleeping in until way past noon. You normally don't even get _out _of the bed for an hour, at the _minimum_, either. You're like that Grouch thing from Sesame Street: angry for hours and a lazy bum who really doesn't do anything. Not to mention it, or _he _I should say, sleeps in a bigger-on-the-inside garbage can and talks to worms that make weird squeaky sounds that should give children nightmares."

Tancred's glare went by unnoticed, but Charlie's comment didn't. "I know that Tanc's house is strangely spacey, but wait, Sander, does that mean _you're_ a weird worm that gives kids nightmares?"

Lysander scowled, making Tancred laugh, but continued without responding. "Your hair isn't even done! You have a thing against bed heads, and look at you! It's almost as bad as Char- well, no it isn't." Charlie scowled this time. "And you usually have this weird obsession with taking a shower _right after _get out of the bed, andyet you haven't! That's so-"

Tancred grunted, picking up a piece of his food with his fork and shoving it into his best friend's mouth as he was talking. Lysander rose his eyebrows, questioning this but not quite daring to say anything. He just began chewing obediently. Tancred nodded contently, taking his fork back after Lysander's face twisted in awe.

Charlie looked between the two, obviously confused. As before, Tancred sat there calmly, forking food into his mouth with a secretive little smile to himself that he probably didn't realize he wore, but Lysander on the other hand looked broken. He just sat there, working his jaw over and over as he chewed, eyes clouded again, but this time with wonder. Disturbed, Charlie cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Hey, you okay, Sander?"

The said boy didn't answer at all; he just chewed. Chew, chew, chew, chew, swallow. Chew. Chew. Chew…

"That ain't normal man," Charlie concernedly murmured, biting his lip. He waved his hand in front of the other boy's face. "Are you there? Sander?"

As with Lysander, Tancred's hand shot out across the table, forcing food into Charlie's mouth. Charlie protested, surprised at the sudden intrusion, but stopped shortly, and grabbed the fork. He chewed thoughtfully.

Tancred sighed exaggeratedly, grabbing a fork set out for someone else. He cut another piece of his food and promptly began eating. He almost groaned at the flavor. It couldn't get any better than this.

Gabriel walked in, trying his best to towel dry the water from his hair that stayed from his recent shower. He shook his head, decided that it's half-dry state was the most he could probably get done naturally, and let the towel drop down to his shoulders. Blinking he looked around, taking in the twin slack faces of Charlie and Lysander and the happy, stuffed face of Tancred. He frowned. "Uh, guys?"

"I…that…" Lysander muttered, swallowing the food.

"Amazing.." Charlie blurted.

"So you had them try the pancakes?" Mr. Newburt grinned, leaning sideways through the kitchen doorway so his loose flowered apron- "It's very _manly_ thank you!" he had said one too many times- didn't show too much.

Tancred swallowed. "You could say that." He grinned back.

Gabriel gapped at the surprising picture. Elle's father's normally semi-neat brown curls were dusted with flour and more of the white substance was displayed on his face and arms, which showed muscle from how his t-shirt was rolled up. That looked nothing like _his _grammar teacher! Why could none of the Bloor's teachers be something other than old or scary? He nodded to Gabriel, seeming unaffected with his appearance and Gabriel's paralysis. "Mornin' son. Eat. Please. Before Tanc finishes it all."

* * *

Elle groaned, blinking sleep away. She moved to sit up but quickly diminished that thought. Her head hurt.

"So you're awake now? That's good," someone said beside her. "Very good. I was wondering when you would come around."

_Shut up! _She thought, gritting her teeth from the sudden eruptions of pain. She brought her knees up, curling in a classic fetal position, and covered her head with her hands. Elle groaned again. Her head was pulsing, her mouth felt hollow and stuffed with bags of cotton, and there was a sudden, undeniable urge to hurl rising. Whoever was talking was certainly was not helping in the slightest.

"You okay?" The person asked, managing to sound guarded yet slightly weary and confused.

She didn't even want to bother trying to put a face to that voice, although somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she recognized it from somewhere. He- or she; Elle couldn't quite tell through the dull pulsing from her ears- was being too damn _loud_.

The grating sound of a chair scooting over rough tiles came all too soon, making Elle wince. He- for only a _guy _wouldn't notice how much pain she was in- began talking again, although she happily noted it was noticeably quieter, "Hey, can you talk? If not don't answer."

She sucked in a breath through clenched teeth and answered reluctantly anyways, just to be rebellious. "Major headache. Please shut up."

"Oh." There was a pause. "Answering anyway doesn't make you rebellious." He pointed out. Elle managed to scowl. Who was this guy, a mind reader?

Elle breathed, trying to relax and even it out. She squeezed her eyes tighter, hoping it might help the pain subside. It worked a bit, and she opened her eyes as tiny slits as some of the pain eased away. She took in the view directly before her and paled even further. She saw off-white walls, only slightly covered by two drawers for presumably clothes, a couple picture frames on top of them, and an open window, its pale blue shutters flapping pointlessly in the slight breeze. Although she was still in her dress and her hair was, if not slightly messy from sleep, sprayed into whatever fancy 'do Olivia had managed it in, this was obviously not the ballroom, and the sheets over her made it obvious that this was obviously not her bed. Or her house even. "What the hell happened last night?" Elle muttered, hating the raspy sound of her voice and racking through her memories to find out where she was.

"So you're better now?" The guy asked cautiously.

"Yes, thanks for asking," she said, turning to look at him. Elle gaped, her eyes finally widening to their full merit. "Dagbert?"

"No, I'm Marcus, Dagbert's twin brother," he replied sarcastically, the concern in his voice completely fading to leave Elle wondering if it was ever even there, or if she had just been imagining it.

"Well, then, _Marcus_-"

"Yes, it's Dagbert!" He sighed exasperatedly, throwing his hands up. "Are you dense or something?"

"Bloody kid with no humor…" She muttered to herself. Elle stiffened, remembering everything in a rush. She frowned, her eyes regaining their steel. "What am I doing here!" She demanded, grabbing him by the front of his shirt roughly. She pulled him closer to her, snarling angrily, "What'd you do? Better yet, where _am _I?"

"Nothing!" He blurted frantically, not expecting the attack and not able to defend himself in his tired state. "I swear, I haven't done anything! I don't even know why you're here! They just dumped you here after you, um, fainted, and told me to make sure you weren't dead. And to make sure you stay undead, I guess. I didn't touch you, I swear."

Elle's frown deepened, but it wasn't a lie. She could tell from his panicked expression. _Great, now I feel bad for assaulting someone. This is going swimmingly. _She loosened her grip until he slumped back fully in his chair, sighing. "Alright, fine. Where is here though?"

"Oh. Right." Dagbert coughed uncomfortably. "This is my, uh, house, home, whatever. They drove us over to my place."

"Who's they?"

"Dr. Bloor and that old fart Ezekiel obviously." He scoffed, but the derisive note left his voice as he began talking again. "Manfred volunteered, but of course, they refused, thinking he'd lead you elsewhere, and they couldn't have that." He sneered.

"Why would Manfred-"

"Shit, I did not tell you that." He cursed, hitting himself for letting anything slip. "Just forget it."

"But-"

"Just forget it." He repeated firmly.

"But-"

"Do you have anything other to ask?" Dagbert interrupted, eyeing her warily. "Please, just don't remember it."

Elle sighed; obviously she couldn't ask about whatever he was talking about. She tried to run a hand through her hair , like she did when stressed, but scowled as her hand snagged a few pins and whatnot. "Alright. Why am I here?"

"I told you already, I don't know why you're here. I guess it's because…everyone else has stuff to do and they don't have room or something."

"And you do?"

"I live alone." He replied bluntly, looking away.

"Oh." Elle chewed her lip, the kind part of her urging her to comfort him and ask why, but the rational side screeching "he's the enemy!" and preventing her from doing anything. "Well, where am I? And don't say your place, I already know that."

"This is my room," He responded tiredly, knowing he was going to get bombarded with more questions.

"Your…room."

"Yes."

"So, I'm on your…bed."

He blushed, shocking her. "Well, I couldn't very well leave you on the floor or something. I may be your enemy, but I _am _the son of a Lord and I _do _have my manners." Dagbert explained defensively.

Elle blinked owlishly. "But I thought you said you had room."

"I did, but I didn't say I had other usable ones. They're all pretty much empty except for the kitchen and bathroom." He reddened again, clashing with his greenish hair and pallor, yet it somehow made him look younger and kind of…she hated to admit it, but adorable. He glared as she chuckled quietly, thinking it was at him. "So, I guess I'll have to find a way to find you a sleeping bag or something depending on how long you'll be here."

"Oh. Wait, if this is your bed, how did you sleep?…Oh my god, you-"

"NO!" Dagbert rushed horrified. "I…haven't yet."

"What? But you-"

He sighed, trying to come up with an excuse other than the oh-yeah-I-didn't-exactly-fancy-sleeping-on-the-floor-or-getting-into-bed-with-you-you-know that was threatening to come out. "I had to make sure you weren't dead remember?"

She scowled. _This guy's nothing more than a big…bloody…butt. Yeah, I won't let anything distract me from his big bloody buttliness…Dammit. But he stayed up to make sure I was okay! And I invaded his bed! I shouldn't feel bad for my enemy! _"Uh, thanks." She conceded bitterly.

He rubbed his neck, keeping his head down. "Don't worry about it." He muttered.

It was silent.

Uncomfortably so.

"So, uh, what happened?" Elle asked, trying to break it. "I mean, I know I passed out and stuff but, you know, I wasn't here and I didn't have a major mind breakdown."

Dagbert nodded. "No, you weren't. Okay, where to start?"

"I think you should start after the whole Joshua-put-crap-in-my-drink part." She answered dryly.

"Well, okay." He inhaled deeply, preparing for a long story…

* * *

Short, I know. But this is basically a kind of…filler chapter I guess, not that much is all that important in here, really, 'cause I just needed a way to put an announcement without breaking any rules or whatnot. Right, well, I'll get to it.

So, basically, I know my updates have been excruciatingly (for me anyway) slooooowwwwww, and that's 'cause while I try to write, I keep ending up writing other parts of the story. Mainly the ending. Or different scenarios for the ending I should say. Which isn't doing me any good. -_-' So, I'm going to outline everything that happens before it happens so I can get over this Imma-plan-50-different-endings-for-no-particular-reason. BLAH.

Thanks for staying with me, if you have. (:

R&R!

~tubs.

Word Count: 2356

**Next time! **What happened at the ball? Where'd the bad guys go? And what's up with Dagbert's crazy girlfriend?


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